Catholic Schools Planning for the Aftermath of Covid-19, Part 1
Susan Abelein, PhD Across our country, Catholic school teachers, principals, and superintendents and their teams are thoughtfully and urgently preparing for an unprecedented transition to at-home, including online, learning. The action of school staffs and dioceses is extraordinary and speaks to the resolve of loving and concerned, mission-driven educators. These weeks, possibly months, of shutdown in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic will have a similar, if not greater impact as other historical events that have jolted, even rocked, the existence of Catholic schools in this country. Why might this be different? Schools, parishes, and dioceses have had a history of downplaying, at best, and often disregarding the realities of Catholic school finances for decades; many schools across the country have been in "hospice mode" for years with diocesan coffers, parish subsidies, and philanthropy funding any budgetary gaps. To use Covid-19 as an excuse to permanently close a Catholic school during or after this shutdown, would be a disgrace to the history and mission for which our Catholic schools exemplify. Furthermore, it would be irreproachable evidence of ineffective leadership, poor planning and indecision as well as a lack of creativity and innovation. What will the lasting effects of Covid-19 be on our stable, stable but fragile, and fragile[1] Catholic schools? Three critical variables of operational vitality include tuition, salaries and benefits, and enrollment; the interplay of these three factors and how and what principals, pastors, presidents, boards, superintendents and bishops plan and do now is what I am most interested in. Tuition and Salaries and Benefits are definitively linked in our Catholic schools. Generally, up to 85% of the operating budget are salaries and benefits while total income from tuition never covers the true cost-to-educate each student. While some stable schools may have a well-established endowment to draw upon or cash in reserves, the majority of Catholic schools develop a tight annual balanced budget based on tuition and may even rely on a subsidy from their parish or diocese. With schools temporarily shutting down, Catholic school leaders are facing immediate questions: Should (and Will) parents pay their tuition? Do we have enough money to pay teachers and staff? Can we afford to pay those employees who are hourly or part-time? Additionally, the temporary pause of weekend masses only exacerbates the concern about the financial sustainability of our schools who may rely on a parish subsidy and also calls into concern the financial viability of some of our fiscally fragile churches. Enrollment drives our ability to remain open; this is the bottom line – no kids (or not enough kids), means no school. Teachers are the front lines of retention; their presence in the classroom, and now online, is a critical factor for students returning to our Catholic schools. Teachers know students; they know students’ learning styles, how to motivate, and where each student is at in terms of their learning progression. In the short-term, retention efforts may include weekly calls or virtual meetings by teachers to groups of students and their parents via Zoom video-conferencing or Google Hangouts. Principals, caring for their teachers, students, and school parents, are also a vital influence in retaining staff and school families. Similarly, principals can hold weekly calls and virtual faculty meetings with teachers and staff with the objective of checking in and accompanying one another during this difficult time. How are you? Let’s pray together. How are you progressing with this week’s work? How can I help? These authentic and compassionate discussions are necessary, not only for connecting, but for maintaining the witness that Catholic schools epitomize. Catholic school enrollment was at its highest in the 1960’s with over 5.2 million students attending nearly 13,000 schools; since then, the enrollment and the number of schools has precipitously declined with current enrollment at just over 1.7 million students attending 6,289 Catholic schools[2]. The impact of Covid-19 on the enrollment and number of Catholic schools across our country may be unprecedented. What can we do? We can plan. Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” This “break” from school is unparalleled; this is not a two-week Christmas break, one-week Easter break, or summer vacation. This Covid-19 break is incomparable and, is already or will eventually, take its toll on students, families, and educators’ mental and emotional health as well as on teaching and learning. We need to plan for and be prepared for not only the financial impact, but the psychological and educational impacts, as well. What can we do? We can plan together. Mother Teresa said, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” At this time, solidarity must outweigh subsidiarity. While individual schools and parishes and individual dioceses are caring for their own, we have an incredible opportunity to exercise Mother Teresa’s statement and work together on solutions – from conventional to innovative – such that our nation’s Catholic schools not only survive but flourish. I have hope that with a commitment to planning together, we will envision Catholic education differently. One of a number of possible innovations may result from this shock to the system. Perhaps, new financial models for Catholic education will emerge. Perhaps, dioceses and schools across the country will consider re-purposing their current schools or reopening closed schools as hubs for online Catholic education. Perhaps, schools will consider the kind of school they were in the past, the kind of school they are now, who they serve now, and who they want to be[3] and as a result of this thoughtful consideration, will become that Catholic school that the community needs most. I get the need to scramble in this very moment, to take care of the immediate concerns, to triage. Still, let’s be sure to build in the time and the resources to plan and work together so that when this crisis is over, all our Catholic schools remain open, as beacons of hope and for the promise of faith and excellence for current and future generations. [1] Dwyer, T.W. (2005). Stable but fragile: assessing the quality and scope of diocesan policies, procedures and expectations for Catholic school financial management. Washington, DC: National Catholic Educational Association. [2] Advanced Solutions International, Inc. (n.d.) Catholic School Data. Retrieved March 17, 2020 from https://www.ncea.org/ncea/proclaim/catholic_school_data/catholic_school_data.aspx [3] Gervasio, D. (2017). Running a smooth financial operation in the Catholic Grade School or High School. Arlington, VA: National Catholic Educational Association.
5 Comments
Rick
3/17/2020 08:34:31 pm
Mic drop! So powerful, true, and needed!
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Dan Horn
3/17/2020 09:55:36 pm
Thanks for writing this, Susan! Really powerful.
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Will Summer
3/19/2020 01:30:10 pm
Nice reflection, thanks, Dr. Susan! The student-teacher and student-student interaction is a key component to what makes a Catholic school a family. Here in L.A., our public schools seem to be scrambling to catch up with this essential need, while so many of our Catholic school teachers are already "meeting" with students via Google Classroom, Zoom and Class Dojo, making sure students are still connected to their school family.
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Gina Maguire
3/19/2020 07:39:52 pm
Excellent, thank you!
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