The economic downturn continues to take a toll on local elementary Catholic school enrollment, with parish and private parochial schools reporting a combined total loss of 1,678 students representing a 3 percent decrease from last year.

However, compared to the 2008-09 school year when there was a drop of 2,589 students reflecting a 4.5 percent decline from the previous pre-recession year of 2007, things could be worse, says archdiocesan superintendent of elementary schools, Dr. Kevin Baxter.

"It's less bad news than we were anticipating," said Baxter, 40, who started his job as superintendent this year after serving as principal of American Martyrs in Manhattan Beach for five years.

The majority of the 224 local Catholic elementary schools serving a combined total of 52,730 students have stable enrollment. Archdiocesan school officials are working with principals to develop long-term strategic planning and marketing strategies to increase enrollment to the desired range of 275-300 students per school.

(For a report on how two San Pedro Region schools implemented new programs which have boosted their enrollment from dangerously low levels, see page SP-1.)

Last year, St. Joan of Arc School in West L.A. closed because of low enrollment and, this year, St. Anthony Claret School (Anaheim) in the neighboring Orange Diocese had to shut its doors. In Sacramento, where Catholic elementary school enrollment declined by 4.5 percent this school year, the diocese recently had to close St. Anne elementary school in south Sacramento. Nearly one in five Catholic schools in the U.S. has closed in the last ten years, according to a recent Time magazine report.

From a high of five million elementary and high school students attending nearly 13,500 Catholic schools in the 1960s, the number of currently enrolled Catholic school students as well as the number of schools remaining open nationwide have both been reduced by more than half. Locally, archdiocesan school officials report a decrease of 14,000 elementary students since 2002.

"We're in a nationwide crisis," said Baxter. "Schools are struggling, and it's really important that we start to think differently, innovatively and creatively."

At the fall principals meeting last month, he encouraged school administrators to consider implementing innovative educational programs, such as dual-language immersion classes, that might attract more families than just those living within a parish's boundaries.

He pointed out that struggling schools might consider adding specialized curriculum in science, technology, special needs or performing arts that would help to generate interest from throughout a wider area.

"It's really thinking about how we can each innovate/differentiate ourselves so we can sustain ourselves over the long term. But," added Baxter, "we've got to adapt and be open to change if we're going to do that."

Baxter also sees more two- and even three-campus models in the archdiocese's future. Currently, Holy Trinity School in Los Angeles and St. Madeleine School in Pomona are two-campus schools.

---Holy Trinity is in the second year of holding its Preparatory School 6-8 grade classes at the parish in Los Angeles' Atwater neighborhood (south of Glendale) and its Academy K-5 classes on St. Casimir's parish property less than two miles away (in the Los Feliz area).

---St. Madeleine School in Pomona started its two-campus model this year, with PreK-5 classes conducted at the parish school and junior high classes held in a separate classroom wing at nearby Pomona Catholic all-girls' high school.

While Catholic schools are revitalizing to stay competitive, the hallmarks of Catholic education --- faith instruction and academic excellence --- will always be present, said Baxter. Catholic schools, he noted proudly, continue to survive while competing with free public schools, including charter schools which imitate some aspects of parochial schools --- such as uniforms and the self-governance structure --- but don't have the faith formation foundation.

"We've got one huge asset they don't have. We teach our Catholic faith, and we've got to make sure that's always the center," stated Baxter.

With the growing number of charter schools in Los Angeles accommodating more than 60,000 students this fall --- which represents a 19 percent increase from last year in contrast to a three percent decline in enrollment at L.A. Unified School District schools this year, according to a Nov. 5 L.A. Times article --- Catholic schools are doing a remarkable job of holding their own, says Baxter.

"The fact that we still have nearly 80,000 students in our elementary and high schools is a sign of hope," he said. He noted tuition assistance provided by the Catholic Education Foundation to almost 7,000 students in 142 elementary schools and 33 high schools has helped keep enrollment up in Catholic schools in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the archdiocese.

In addition, the archdiocesan annual appeal, Together in Mission, has helped subsidize capital improvements at 61 schools in financially disadvantaged areas of the archdiocese.

Students attending Catholic schools, said Baxter, receive "tremendous" academic and spiritual benefits. He pointed out that a study conducted by Loyola Marymount University a few years ago showed that 99 percent of Catholic high school students graduated with 98 percent going on to attend two- and four-year colleges. This contrasts with public school statistics showing a 30 percent average drop-out rate nationwide which can climb to 50-60 percent in America's inner cities.

"The data demonstrates that our schools are successful and they do a good job," said Baxter. "If you go into our Catholic schools, there's a sense of family, of community, welcoming and belonging. These things are invaluable."