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North County Catholic Schools Rebound After Consolidation

By Tom Anselm

Back in the early 1950s, our fair neighborhood boasted a large number of Catholic schools.   In this week’s edition, we feature many of such educational institutions that have taken on the challenge of faith-based education in a changing population.   Just as people came from the city in the mid-twentieth century to settle the farmlands north of Interstate 70, so many more have moved across the great divide of the Missouri River to points west, almost to the point of making the Greater St. Louis area a suburb of Columbia, MO.

Call it what you will, that movement of population has changed the face of Catholic education in our area.  Parishes closed and consolidated, forming new congregations.  This and the higher cost of private schooling have led to even more joining of schools.  The system remains sound, and successful, even amidst these challenges.  But things have changed since I was a kid.

I am a product of Catholic education, Kindergarten through high school.  Now that may be taken as a credit to the system, or an indictment, depending upon who you talk to.  But as I look at our Catholic Schools Week section, I wonder… why do schools have to advertise to get students?  Doesn’t the product speak for itself?  Shouldn’t parents just be knocking down the doors to get their kids in?  I don’t have all the answers, but here are a few observations.

Private education has always been more expensive, and it is especially so in today’s economic climate.  Many parents I know with children my grand-kids age just can’t find a way to afford it.

When I was a kid, almost everyone I knew went to St. Jerome’s in Bissell Hills.  In fact, this subdivision, like Glasgow Village (St. Pius X), the south end of Bellefontaine Neighbors (Good Counsel) and Hathaway Manor (St. Casimir), were built with the school and church as the centerpiece of the development.  You were either Catholic, or “public”, an unfortunate term for kids who went to the local district schools.

Not a good way of looking at it, but true, nonetheless.   Even then, it was a struggle for many parents to send their kids to the private schools, especially since many families were rather large in the post-WWII population boom of which I am so much a part of.  But the price was kept down by employing very low cost labor as teachers—the beloved nuns.

Now I say beloved not in a sarcastic way.  Sure, the legends abound of rulers knocking the knuckles of miscreants, and Sister Mary Drill Sergeant roaring down the halls as innocent bystanders flew hither and yon against locker and wall. But they do not do justice to the many wonderful and sweet women who gave their lives to the children of their parishes.

Today’s elementary schools have one nun, maybe, with highly qualified and trained teachers, a vast array of programs, up-to date technology, and a strong curriculum.  So the current cost of this quality can be steep.

But you seem to get what you pay for.  The high schools boast high graduation rates, with many students going on to college. Strong foundations in the basics are a product of the elementary schools.  And another feature that these schools offer is the element of discipline.  I have seen Catholic schools in operation, and have taught in public schools.  There is a difference.

The sheer size of a schools population may be one determinate, and I don’t mean an 8th grader who looks like he shaves twice a day and drives to school.  With a smaller student body, there is a greater opportunity to gain special relationships with students and parents.

I know that the public school must take anyone who shows up at their door, and educate them in a free and appropriate manner.  That is the law, what we pay taxes for, and that is as it should be.  And there are many teachers in these systems no less dedicated and talented than their parochial counterparts.  Plus, the advantage that a private school has to pick its students plays into this issue.   So I know we are not comparing apples and apples here.  Still, the difference can be palpable.

Then, there is the key element that Catholic schools offer that is not always prominently promoted.  That element is the atmosphere of faith.  The opportunity to pray, attend Mass with your classmates and teachers, to be surrounded daily by reminders of a Higher Power.  This could explain more than anything else why parents who are not Catholic are seeking this private option more and more.  They may see something essential that they cannot find elsewhere.  The word “catholic” itself comes from the Greek and means “universal,” and current enrollments are reflective of that diversity.

Preparing our youth for life has never been more difficult than in today’s culture. So hat’s off to the teachers and administrators of Catholic schools in the North County region.  They do an exemplary job in challenging times. Email comments to: tjanselm@sbcglobal

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