By: Jennifer Marino
St. Agnes Cathedral School bucks the trend of declining enrollment in the Rockville Centre Diocese. With 875 students, they are the largest school in the diocese. St. Agnes co-principal Helen Newman served on the Catholic Elementary School Study Committee, which recently issued a report showing that while enrollment at Catholic high schools in the diocese is way up, enrollment at elementary schools is going down on a whole. It could be a variety of reasons, said Newman, as to why enrollment is down in the diocese. Finances are always a concern, and it could be that families decide to put the emphasis on high school and spend their money there.
Besides studying trends, the committee also came up with recommendations to increase enrollment. One important suggestion is that individual schools need to market themselves. According to Newman there are a lot of misconceptions about Catholic schools, especially about the quality of teachers.
We can-t sit on our laurels, said Newman, even though St. Agnes has a very healthy number of students. She pointed out that Rockville Centre is a very competitive market, where the public school system is also quite good. St. Agnes has had very good test scores on state mandated tests, like the public schools, but it also has other things to offer. Catholic schools give parents the opportunity to have children learn about their faith and values in school. Newman also said that the parents of her students are very dedicated to the school and always offer their assistance with fund-raising.
Founded in 1917, St. Agnes Cathedral School has been recognized by the United States Department of Education as a National School of Excellence. The school also has accreditation by the Middle States Association for Colleges and Schools. It is the only elementary school in the diocese to be accorded both honors. Newman is co-principal with Sister Kathleen Carlin.
Other recommendations of the committee concern the finances of the schools. There will be a Catholic Elementary School Foundation to solicit financial support and a second collection will be taken annually at all Masses, with those proceeds going to the foundation. The foundation will provide partial scholarships for students based on need, with the hope that eventually there will be an angel program where a donor will supply financial support for a student for several years.
The final recommendation of the committee was to form a Commission on Catholic Elementary School Education. The commission would assist in implementing the recommendations, and its committees would help guide schools in areas such as finance, development and marketing.
The diocese has made a commitment to Catholic education, said Newman.
