Pennsylvania is marking Catholic Schools Week. This is why that's important | Opinion

I still remember celebrating Catholic Schools Week in my elementary school. We had a grandparents’ breakfast, special dress-up days, an open house where we showed off special projects for our families, and a school night at the roller-skating rink. It was a special time and helped us appreciate how lucky we were to attend such tight-knit, faith-based schools.

This week marks the 49th anniversary of Catholic Schools Week, and schools around the country are greeting it with similar fanfare. Having proved their worth during the pandemic, Catholic schools have good reason to celebrate.

Bishop McCort Catholic High School in Johnstown is a good example. Because it already had a flexible instruction plan in place for snow days, the school missed only one day of classes after Governor Tom Wolf closed schools in March 2020. McCort was able to pivot to high-quality online instruction that kept its students moving forward. Meanwhile, Principal Tom Smith says, “the local public schools took weeks to have their online programs up-and-running and most made classes pass-fail.” McCort provided in-person instruction for 84% of its regularly scheduled days during the 2020-2021 school year.

Parents rewarded Bishop McCort’s success by flocking to it. “Due to our commitment to students during the pandemic, parents from across the region, state, and country are still taking notice of the work we have done and continue to do,” says Smith. “We’ve had 131 students transfer to Bishop McCort since March 2020.”

Catholic schools throughout Pennsylvania had similar experiences. Sean McAleer, Director of Education for the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, explained that every Catholic school in the state took the opportunity to plan flexible instruction days when the state introduced them for the 2019-20 school year. By contrast, only 72 of the state’s 500 school districts planned FIDs that first year. This pre-planning gave Catholic schools an edge when schools were first shuttered.

It’s not surprising that Catholic schools were leaders when it came to re-opening during Covid-19. For starters, Catholic schools tend to be mission-driven, so school leaders are likely to feel compelled to offer a safe place for the students they serve. Beyond that, Catholic schools — like other private schools — rely on tuition payments. If they don’t meet their students’ needs, parents won’t be keen on keeping their children enrolled.

Like Bishop McCort, Catholic schools throughout Pennsylvania have experienced enrollment growth over the past few years—often after years of declines. According to McAleer, many schools were worried after the initial—and admittedly modest—Covid enrollment bump that they’d lose students for the following year. But diocesan schools in Pennsylvania saw a 2 percent enrollment increase in 2021-22—double the increase of 2020-21.

“We’re proud of what we’re doing educationally in our schools,” says McAleer. “We’re also very proud of the national report card results. The report card showed that public schools are really hurting after Covid. They’ve had losses like they’ve never seen before since they started reporting … in math and reading and English. The real sunny spot of the report was Catholic schools. We actually saw increases. They might have been small, but they were still increases. So, we’re very proud of what we’re doing. And without the leadership of our administrators and our teachers, we’d be in trouble. They’re doing a fantastic job in our schools.”

McAleer also notes that Catholic school demographics are very similar to the neighborhoods they’re in. “We’re doing better with the same kids,” he says. “We have the same kids, same neighborhoods, and we’re doing better. That shows that you can do better, and the kids can learn.”

The encouraging news about Catholic schools makes celebrating Catholic Schools Week even more exciting for leaders like Tom Smith. “Bishop McCort is a faith-based educational option that is a beacon of positivity, hope, and light in the city and provides the children and families of the region with amazing educational options,” he explains. “Catholic Schools Week is a time to share the good news about what’s happening in our schools. We’ll have an open house, a special Mass with Bishop Bartchak, and our students will be reading at Sunday Masses at local parishes.”

Catholic schools have a long history of education and service in Pennsylvania, as was exemplified by their Covid response. Catholic Schools Week gives them a chance to celebrate their accomplishments with their families and communities.

Colleen Hroncich is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Pennsylvania is marking Catholic Schools Week. This is why that's important