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Catholic School Data

United States Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools
2012-2013
The Annual Statistical Report on Schools, Enrollment and Staffing
 
Online Synopsis  (full report available)
 
Dale McDonald, PBVM, Ph.D.
Margaret M. Schultz
 
Executive Summary
This annual report presents national data on Catholic elementary and secondary schools. Enrollment patterns, regional geographic trends, types and locations of schools, student and staffing demographic characteristics and student participation in selected education programs are reported. Where data permit, the exhibits compare information across the last decade as well as the past five years.
 
 
 
Highlights

Enrollment:
•     Total Catholic school student enrollment for the current academic year is 2,001,740.
            1,415,244 in elementary/middle schools; 586,496 in secondary schools
•      Student diversity: 19.6% are racial minorities, 14.3% are Hispanic/Latino and 6.4% were reported as unknown in the racial data collection.
•      Non-Catholic enrollment is 317,470 which is 15.9% of the total enrollment.
Schools:
•      There are 6,685 Catholic schools: 5,472 elementary; 1,213 secondary.
•      28 new schools opened; 148 consolidated or closed.
•      2,166 schools have a waiting list for admission.
 
 The student/teacher ratio is 13:1.
 
Professional Staff:
·  Full-time equivalent professional staff numbered 151,405: 
                        96.8%: Laity                       (Lay women: 74.5% Lay men: 22.3%)
                        3.2%:   Religious/Clergy    (Sisters: 2.2%; Brothers: 0.5%; Clergy: 0.5%)

   Schools
Regional Distribution
Exhibit 9 presents the number of schools within each of the regions with the percentages of the distribution indicated by level of the schools and the national composite. Almost half of all the schools (46.4%) are located within the Mideast and Great Lakes regions.  
 
 EXHIBIT 9
Regional Distribution of Catholic Schools

                                                                          2002-2003                2007-2008                  2012-2013

Totals of all schools
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
New England
539
6.7
485
6.6
421
6.3
Mideast
2,119
26.5
1,855
25.1
1,513
22.6
Great Lakes
1,960
24.5
1,752
23.7
1,587
23.8
Plains
926
11.6
874
11.8
828
12.4
Southeast
1,011
12.5
974
13.2
937
14.0
West/Far West
1,445
18.1
1,438
19.5
1,399
20.9
United States
8,000
100.0
7,378
100.0
6,685
100.0

 
Location of Schools
Although there has been a significant decrease in the total number of Catholic schools during the past four decades, the church has not lost sight of its commitment to educate children, particularly those of the poor, within the inner cities and urban areas.  Schools in these areas remain a significant presence: four decades ago 46.5 % were located in urban and inner city areas, today 41.5% of the schools are still in urban/inner city locales despite population losses and great financial difficulties in maintaining them.  During that same period of time, suburban schools increased from 25.0% to 37.5% of the total.
 
 
EXHIBIT 10

Location of Schools 

                                Elementary/Middle          Secondary                 National Totals 

 
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Urban
1,575
28.8
468
38.6
2,043
30.6
Inner-City
608
11.1
123
10.1
731
10.9
Suburban
2,080
38.0
430
35.4
2,510
37.5
Rural
1,209
22.1
192
15.8
1,401
21.0
Total
5,472
100.0
1,213
100.0
6,685
100.0
 

 Single Gender Schools

The 2012-2013 data indicate that 1.2% of all Catholic elementary schools are single gender and 31.5% of secondary are single gender. Exhibit 13 illustrates their distribution.

EXHIBIT 13 

 
Number
 
%
           Elementary/Middle
67
 
1.2%  of elementary schools
           Secondary
382
 
31.5%  of secondary schools
           Total Single Gender
449
 
6.7%  of all schools
 
           Enrollment

Enrollment by Grade Level

EXHIBIT 15
Enrollment by Grade Level
 
                                                                 2002-2003                     2007-2008                    2012-2013
All Schools                                      Number           %             Number            %              Number         %    
Preschool
157,250
8.2
152,980
9.3
156,233
10.9
Kindergarten
199,690
10.4
161,650
9.8
146,360
10.2
Grade 1
202,769
10.5
164,308
10.0
139,755
9.7
Grade 2
202,425
10.5
165,789
10.1
138,494
9.7
Grade 3
200,394
10.4
164,620
10.0
140,373
9.8
Grade 4
197,695
10.3
165,121
10.0
140,680
9.8
Grade 5
196,177
10.2
166,845
10.1
139,831
9.7
Grade 6
195,608
10.2
170,154
10.3
144,291
10.1
Grade 7
189,296
9.8
168,339
10.2
143,225
10.0
Grade 8
179,113
9.3
166,676
10.1
142,177
9.9
Ungraded
2,726
0.1
1,477
0.1
2,824
0.2
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* Total Preschool - 8
1,923,143
100.0
1,647,959
100.0
1,434,243
100.0
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Grade 9
166,529
26.4
165,597
26.6
146,801
25.9
Grade 10
160,407
25.5
157,109
25.2
143,845
25.3
Grade 11
152,587
24.2
150,867
24.2
139,616
24.6
Grade 12
146,565
23.3
148,521
23.8
136,524
24.1
Ungraded
4,046
0.6
860
0.1
711
0.1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* Total 9 - 12
630,134
100.0
622,954
100.0
567,497
100.0
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GRAND TOTAL
2,553,277
100.0
2,270,913
100.0
2,001,740
100.0
 
* NB: Because some elementary schools have a ninth grade and some secondary schools have grades 6-8 in their totals, this distribution does not match that in Exhibits 16 and 26.
 
 
Enrollment by Region
The national enrollment data, charted by region in Exhibit 16, show that the Mideast and Great Lakes regions enroll almost half the Catholic school population (46.9%).  This percentage does indicate a decline from 52.0% over the past decade. 
 
                 
EXHIBIT 16
Enrollment by Region  
                                
 
2002-2003
2007-2008
2012-2013
All Schools
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
New England
161,914
6.3
136,855
6.0
117,270
5.8
Mideast
723,957
28.4
607,705
26.8
481,837
24.1
Great Lakes
592,796
23.2
510,677
22.5
456,575
22.8
Plains
248,888
9.7
225,943
9.9
210,271
10.5
Southeast
362,230
14.2
343,559
15.1
319,748
16.0
West/Far West
463,492
18.2
446,174
19.6
416,039
20.8
United States
2,553,277
100.0
2,270,913
100.0
2,001,740
100.0
     
Catholic School Trend Data
 
U. S. Catholic school enrollment reached its peak during the early 1960s when there were more than 5.2 million students in almost thirteen thousand schools across the nation. The 1970s and 1980s saw a steep decline in both the number of schools and students.  By 1990, there were approximately 2.5 million students in 8,719 schools.   From the mid 1990s though 2000, there was a steady enrollment increase (1.3%) despite continued closings of schools.
 
Between the 2000 and the 2013 school years, 2,090 schools were reported closed or consolidated (25.7%). The number of students declined by 651,298 (24.5%).  The most seriously impacted have been elementary schools.
 
Exhibit 20 details the reported school closures, and illustrates that the elementary schools in the twelve large urban areas of the country have declined by 29.5% since 2003.
 
Exhibit 22 presents the national and elementary enrollment trend data. Since 2000, elementary school enrollment has declined by 38.2% in the 12 urban dioceses and 25.3% in the rest of the U.S.
 
Exhibits 20 & 22 are available in the full report, which can be ordered online. Click here to go to the NCEA Online Store.
                 
Tuition and Costs
 
 
Tuition fees paid by families constitute a portion of the actual per pupil expenses.  The average per pupil tuition in parish elementary schools is $3,673 which is approximately 62.2 % of actual costs per pupil of $5,387.  About 93.9% of elementary schools provide some form of tuition assistance. 
 
The secondary mean freshman tuition is $9,622 which is approximately 81.6% of actual costs per pupil of $11,790.  About 97% of secondary schools provide some form of tuition assistance.
 
The difference between the per pupil cost and the tuition charged is obtained in many ways, primarily through direct subsidy from parish, diocesan or religious congregation resources and from multi-faceted development programs and fund-raising activities.
.
EXHIBIT 24

Average Tuition and Per Pupil Costs

 
Elementary
Mean parish school tuition:              $3,673.              Per pupil cost:  $5,387.
 
Secondary
Mean freshman tuition:                    $9,622                Per pupil cost:  $11,790.
 
The average public school per pupil cost of $10,652, as reported by the National Center for Education Statistics, includes both elementary and secondary schools. (On average, secondary school costs are higher than elementary, but are not reported separately.)
Based on the public schools cost, Catholic schools provide approximately 21 billion dollars a year savings for the nation.
 
Student Race and Ethnicity
Beginning with the 2012 data collection, NCEA adopted the federal standards for collecting and reporting demographic data in two categories: race and ethnicity.  These federal standards mandate that race and Hispanic origin (ethnicity) are separate and distinct concepts and that when collecting these data two different questions must be used.  Consequently, race and ethnic diversity will be reported in two separate exhibits.
 
Student diversity in Catholic schools has increased significantly in the past 40 years.  When data were first collected, the Hispanic/Latino population was included and the reports listed non-Whites as “minorities.”  In 1970, the diversity percentage was 10.8%, in 1980 it had increased to 19.4% and by 2010 was 29.8%.  In 2013, the racial diversity is 19.6% and Hispanic/Latino is 14.3%.  NCEA will no longer use the minority identifier, but instead report racial and ethnic diversity separately.
                                                                            
EXHIBIT 26a
Catholic School Enrollment and Percentages by Race 
                                                     Elementary/Middle                            Secondary                              All Schools
 
National
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
American Indian/ Native Alaskan
15,672
1.1%
5,204
0.9%
20,876
1.0%
Asian
67,868
4.8%
29,432
5.0%
97,300
4.9%
Black
99,986
7.1%
50,531
8.6%
150,517
7.5%
Native Hawaiian/ Pacific islander
12,542
0.9%
4,475
0.8%
17,017
0.9%
Multiracial
78,186
5.5%
27,540
4.7%
105,726
5.3%
White
1,052,227
74.3%
430,496
73.4%
1,482,723
74.1%
Unknown
88,763
6.3%
38,818
6.6%
127,581
6.4%
Total
1,415,244
100.0%
586,496
100.0%
2,001,740
100.0%
 
EXHIBIT 26b
Hispanic/Latino  Enrollment and Percentages
                                                Elementary/Middle                            Secondary                              All Schools
 
 
Number
% in Region
Number
% in Region
Number
% in Region
New England
6,091
8.16%
2,238
5.4%
8,329
7.1%
Mideast
42,144
13.0%
16,464
10. 5%
58,608
12.2%
Great Lakes
31,019
9.1%
9,584
8.2%
40,603
8. 9%
Plains
9,641
6.1%
2,554
4.9%
12,195
5.8%
Southeast
28,881
12.7%
11,897
12.9%
40,778
12.8%
West/Far West
92,864
32.0%
32,166
25.5%
125,030
30.0%
Total
210,640
14.9%
74,903
12.8%
285,543
14.3%
 
 
Enrollment of Non-Catholics
Most Catholic school students are Catholic.  However, non-Catholic student enrollment has risen from 2.7% in 1970 to 11.2% a decade later and today is 15.9% as shown in Exhibit 27.
 
EXHIBIT 27
Non-Catholic Enrollment 
                                                  Elementary/Middle                    Secondary                       All Schools
                                                           
 
Number
% in Region
Number
% in Region
Number
% in Region
New England
          13,035
17.2%
           7,842
18.8%
        20,877
17.8%
Mideast
          55,638
17.2%
         30,057
19.1%
        85,695
17.8%
Great Lakes
          43,804
12.9%
         21,945
18.8%
        65,749
14.4%
Plains
          14,486
9.2%
           5,981
11.4%
        20,467
9.7%
Southeast
          35,311
15.5%
         18,251
19.8%
        53,562
16.8%
West/Far West
          37,511
12.9%
         33,609
26.7%
        71,120
17.1%
United States
        199,785
14.1%
       117,685
20.1%
      317,470
15.9%
 
National Totals
Number
%
Catholic
1,649,308
82.4%
Non-Catholic
317,470
15.9%
Not Reported
34,962
1.7%
Total
2,001,740
100.0%
 
Staffing of Catholic Schools
 
In 2012-2013, the total, full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching staff in Catholic elementary/middle and secondary schools is 151,405. Over the past decade, the lay faculty percentages increased from 93% to the current 96.8%.  At present, 3.2% of the professional staff are religious and clergy.  Exhibit 28 presents the FTE data by category and percentage.
 
 
EXHIBIT 28
Full-time Equivalent Professional Staff
2012-2013
 
 
Elementary
%
Secondary
%
All Schools
%
Sisters
2,392
2.4
949
1.9
3,341
2.2
Brothers
121
0.1
616
1.2
737
0.5
Clergy
193
0.2
582
1.1
775
0.5
Female Lay
85,798
85.3
27,037
53.3
112,835
74.5
Male Lay
12,129
12.0
21,588
42.5
33,717
22.3
*Total
100,633
100.0
50,772
100.0
151,405
100.0
*Adjusted totals to reflect weighted averages.
 
Lay:                               96.8%
Religious/Clergy:         3.2%
 
 
Full Report:
 
 
United States Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools 2012-2013 The Annual Statistical Report on Schools, Enrollment and Staffing
Dale McDonald, PBVM, PhD 
Director of Public Policy and Educational Research
Margaret Schultz
The National Catholic Educational Association

 

 

The full 51 page report contains the following topics and is available for purchase from NCEA ($18 member/$27 nonmember) at the NCEA Online Store.
  • Schools and Enrollment History
  • School Staffing History
  • Public/Private School Comparisons
  • Percentage Distribution of Schools by Enrollment Size
  • Percentage Distribution of Private Schools by Typology
  • Percentage Distribution of Students in Private Schools by Typology
  • Regional Distribution of Elementary/Middle and Secondary Schools
  • Location of Schools
  • Schools by Types of Governance
  • Schools with Boards/Commissions/Councils
  • Single Gender Schools
  • School Openings and Closings
  • Enrollment by Grade Level
  • Enrollment by Region
  • Student Enrollment: States with Ten Highest Enrollments
  • Student Enrollment: Dioceses with Largest Enrollments
  • Diocesan Enrollment Patterns
  • Schools with Waiting Lists
  • Average Tuition and Per Pupil Costs
  • Catholic School Enrollment and Percentages by Race
  • Hispanic/Latino Enrollment 
  • Non-Catholic Enrollment
  • Full-Time Equivalent Professional Staff
  • Student/Teacher Ratio
  • Non-Catholic Faculty Numbers and Percentages
  • Faculty Numbers and Percentages by Ethnic Background
  • Schools with Extended Day Programs
  • Students Receiving Title 1 Services
  • Participation in Federal Nutrition Programs
  • Students Receiving Government Subsidized/Free Transportation to School
  • Schools with Student Access to Internet
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Financing the Mission: a Profile of Catholic Elementary Schools in the United States 2011
This biennial report contains financial information regarding tuition, per-pupil cost, cost of instruction materials, fund-raising, salaries, and benefits, endowment funds, pre-kindergarten, and more. This publication will is available for free at the School Reach website.  Click here to order.
 
Dollars and Sense: Catholic High Schools and Their Finances 2012 (Executive Summary)
 
 
2012 edition is in production.
 
Please check back at a later date.
 
 
 

 Dollars and Sense: A Report on Catholic High School Leadership, Governance & Finance 2012 (Full Report)

2012 edition is in production.

Please check back at a later date.


 
 
 


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