Roman Catholic school administrators can thank extended pandemic-based shutdowns of public schools for a dramatic reversal of fortune as enrollments increased 3.8% after a quarter-century of decline.
The Manhattan Institute analysis of data from the National Catholic Educational Association revealed that although the 1.688 million students enrolled in the 2021-2022 school year is roughly 150,000 fewer than five years ago, it is a jump over the 2020-2021 year.
That first year of COVID-19 restrictions marked “the largest single-year decline” in enrollment the NCEA had tracked in its 50 years of research, the study said.
“This increase is remarkable not only because it is the first nationwide Catholic school enrollment increase in 25 years but also because public schools around the country are reporting significant enrollment declines in both years of the pandemic,” researchers Kathleen Porter-Magee, Annie Smith, and Matt Klausmeier said.