"The enrollment figures are now totaled for the 2013-2014 school year," said Jean Johnson, diocesan superintendent of Catholic Schools, noting that this year the Springfield diocese has 10,973 students enrolled in Catholic high schools and elementary schools. "The enrollment is down just .3 percent — that's just three-tenths of one percent — this year after decreases of 1.8 percent in 2012-2013 and 2.2 percent in 2011-2012.
"Although this is still a decrease, it is exciting news for our diocese that the decrease is slight this year," she said. "We hope we are moving toward an increase for the next school year."
Meanwhile, the Quincy Catholic elementary schools have seen an enrollment increase for the second consecutive year in grades PreK-8, for Blessed Sacrament, St. Dominic, St. Francis and St. Peter, according to Paul Rittof, director of marketing and development for Quincy Catholic Elementary Schools (QCES) and executive director of the QCES Foundation.
In Quincy, the total elementary school enrollment has increased by 52 students, an increase of 6 percent for the 2013-2014 school year, while preschool enrollment increased by 6 students for a 3 percent increase. The combined enrollment for Quincy's four Catholic elementary schools stands at 1,135.
Moreover, 30 of the new students in the Quincy elementary schools are non-Catholic students, Rittof said, bringing the number of non-Catholic students enrolled to 74. "Quincy Catholic elementary schools welcome students of all faiths and we appreciate and are humbled by the vote of confidence the parents of these 74 students have placed in our four schools to provide their children with a quality faith-based education."
The overall increase can be attributed to a number of initiatives, said Rittof, including an ongoing aggressive marketing campaign promoting awareness of what is offered in the four Catholic elementary schools, as well as support from QCES parents for the Each One, Reach One Enrollment Initiative.
Striving to continually improve the overall educational experience for students has struck a chord with both current and prospective parents, and has also contributed to an increase in enrollment, said Matt Bergman, president of QCES Foundation and a QCES parent.
Thanks to a Long Range Planning Process that was funded by the Tracy Family Foundation, the four Catholic elementary schools continue to participate in an ongoing self-review and improvement process. Bergman said the process has resulted in the four grade schools becoming better and more effective and adds that parents with children in Quincy Catholic schools are grateful for a fine education.
Rittof agrees. "We owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to our QCES parents, who invest in their children's education by offering their time, talent and treasure to our schools," he said, noting that Quincy parents are good about "sharing with others why they've chosen a Catholic elementary school education for their children."
Parents in Quincy Catholic elementary schools are also benefiting from important tuition assistance. "More tuition assistance was available this year than ever before for the four elementary schools," Rittof said. "The average tuition assistance award for the 150 families receiving tuition assistance for the 2013-2104 school year was $1,347."
Johnson said things are also going particularly well in Maryville, which is home to Father McGivney High School. She is delighted that Father McGivney, now in its second year, has seen a significant increase in enrollment over the 2012-2013 year. "This year they welcomed 32 freshmen, so they have gone from 19 students to 51 and that is a significant number of incoming freshmen," she said.
Overall, school personnel throughout the diocese are participating in a number of trainings to impact enrollment, Johnson said. "In September many school principals and development directors participated in a series of webinars sponsored by the Office for Catechesis.
These webinars focused on how to promote the school, how to grow enrollment, and how to write a news release — all topics important to getting folks to hear the story about our schools and see the value in Catholic education.
"Our schools offer Christ-centered environments, strong academics, dedicated professionals and many extracurricular programs," Johnson said. "Every school needs to get that message out to the public. We continue to work diligently in the Office for Catechesis and in our schools to keep Catholic education strong in the Diocese of Springfield."