What are the signs that a parochial school may close?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Our kid's K-8 parochial school has low enrollment which appears to be decreasing year-over-year. Besides low enrollment, what are signs a school might close? Might anyone know the ADW's criteria for keeping a school open? We would like to keep ahead of this and do not know what to look for.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Unstable at the principal position.

[Anonymous]

Teachers leaving
My kid is at a Christian K-8 that is doing well. She has 39 kids in her MS grade with 3 home rooms.
A friend of hers goes to a different Christian K-8 and has 11 kids in the 7th grade. That’s a crazy small cohort imo. Doesn’t seem to be closing though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers leaving
My kid is at a Christian K-8 that is doing well. She has 39 kids in her MS grade with 3 home rooms.
A friend of hers goes to a different Christian K-8 and has 11 kids in the 7th grade. That’s a crazy small cohort imo. Doesn’t seem to be closing though.

We attend this same school and it’s fine. The school is like that by design. That said low enrollment or high attrition is a red flag, leadership turnover and frequent teacher turnover are all things to look for. See if you can get your hands on anything regarding the school’s finances, Board records, etc. that will show you where the school is and where it is going.

[Anonymous]

Ask to see the parish/church financial report as well as the same report for the school. Typically they’re posted in the back of the sanctuary. This should be insightful. You could also directly ask the principal or parish/church leader. And if you care about the place enough, you could offer to help them with open houses and advertising and parent word-of-mouth. Great role-modeling for your kids to see this support, too.

[Anonymous]

Has it been on the chopping block before?
Is the principal stable and experienced?
Are they attracting competent l, experienced, teachers, or loosing them?
Have they downsized staff?
Are key positions like VP being consolidated or eliminated?
How many 8th graders are gone?

[Anonymous]

I will add:

Are theyvloosing functional space in the building? I.e. Has the parish taken the math room for office space?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unstable at the principal position.

True. But, a better question is how much the parish priest supports the principal and the school. There are some priests that go above and beyond in supporting the school and making sure it continues to grow. There are some priests that generally don't care (and you can see it) and there are some priests that seem like they actively take steps to force the schools to close.

[Anonymous]

Also consider location. Is there another parochial school nearby with similarly low enrollment such that one could easily absorb the other school's students?

[Anonymous]

I’d watch for changes in the percentage of the student population that were children of members of the parish.

If that percentage decreases and continues to decrease the Parish will start asking itself just why they have the school.

They began bringing “others” in to fill the classes and provide the revenue they needed to serve the Parish kids. But without the Parish kids there is no real reason to keep the school open. Oh, it’s nice to provide an alternative to the public schools. But that isn’t enough incentive to go through all the expense and effort to keep a school open.

[Anonymous]

What schools do you think are currently at risk?

[Anonymous]

FWIW, I saw no signs and was completely blind sided when St Charles in Arlington closed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unstable at the principal position.

maybe. It could be said that St Luke has had an "unstable" principal situation. But each can be explained - and the school is fully enrolled with waitlists last I heard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, I saw no signs and was completely blind sided when St Charles in Arlington closed

There are some key things you have to have to operate a Parish school. You must have leadership/staff, teachers, students, supportive families and facilities. The whole enterprise must be managed and it may need to be funded beyond tuition revenue.

Take away any of these critical pieces and the school can’t operate. They are like the legs of a stool. Each is needed.

The condition or strength of these individual components isn’t always visible to those on the periphery. Which could result in blindsiding when closure happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, I saw no signs and was completely blind sided when St Charles in Arlington closed

That blindsided me as well. But there were a number of factors there too.