As if Catholic schools didn't have enough worries of their own (and their Church's) making (see here), now they are fretting over competition from charter schools. In New York City, some parochial school principals are greeting Gov. Spitzer's plan to raise the charter cap by 150 (50 of these new slots will be reserved for the City) with a cold shoulder. "If you had an opportunity to get your child into a school modeled on Catholic education," says Sister Marianne Poole--whose school has been losing children to a nearby charter school--"and it's free, of course you're going to do it." But where the New York schools see gloom and doom, Church leaders in Boston now see a model for renewal (dare one say for rising from the dead?). The archdiocese is consolidating three Brockton schools under one new roof and giving control of it to an independent board of directors. In essence, it's creating a Catholic charter school (see here)--the "district" (the archdiocese) is contracting with a private board to run the school. Said Rev. David O'Donnell, whose school was involved in the merger, "It's like Catholic education on steroids. It's going to be great." The archdiocese plans to expand this model to other schools as part of its 2010 Initiative to revitalize Catholic education. Can we hear a Hallelujah?
"Church Schools Face Challenge from Charters," by Sarah Garland, New York Sun, February 27, 2007
"A New Model for Schools in the Boston Archdiocese," by Katie Zezima, New York Times, February 24, 2007