While in Milwaukee last week, I had the chance to spend some time visiting with the leadership team for Seton Catholic Schools, a network of about two dozen elementary schools enrolling about 8,300 students. As a Jewish kid who always attended (and taught in) traditional public schools, I always find parochial schools innately interesting. What they’re doing at Seton is doubly so.
In recent decades, Catholic education has confronted a bunch of challenges. A half-century ago, the parochial staffing model relied heavily on nuns—which served to make staffing a no-brainer and to keep costs way down. Because those nuns are no longer there in significant numbers, staffing parochial schools is now a lot more expensive and difficult than it used to be. Charter schools offer a tuition-free alternative for lots of urban families that might have once considered parochial schools. Meanwhile, parochial schooling also has to deal with the same hidebound routines, dated facilities, and ineffective practices that hinder so many urban public schools.