Mix of fates for Catholic schools: Some thrive while others struggle

Doug Erickson, via a kind reader's email:

At St. Ambrose Academy in Madison, neither the curriculum nor the faith is watered down.

Freshmen at the Catholic high school read Homer's "The Odyssey" and discuss it using the Socratic method. Students attend Mass three times weekly, and religion infuses most classes.

It's an approach that has found great favor among a slice of the Catholic populace. Enrollment is projected to balloon from 68 this school year to 210 in five years.

The growth starkly contrasts the fate of St. Mary's Catholic School in Platteville, also in the Madison Catholic Diocese. The 84-student school is scheduled to close June 1.

Diocesan officials and others say St. Mary's is an atypical case not reflective of the health of the other 45 Catholic schools in the diocese. St. Mary's parishioners became divided over the arrival two years ago of conservative priests. School enrollment and donations dropped.

"Platteville was very unique," said Matthew Kussow, executive director of the Wisconsin Council of Religious & Independent Schools. "They had a specific situation that was a change from the past, and when that happens, issues can come up."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 16, 2012 8:26 AM
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