Catholic Schools on Verge of ‘Renaissance’

Inner-city Catholic schools are entering a period of improved performance and growth, according to a new report produced by the Philanthropy Roundtable.

The group’s report outlines the way in which Catholic schools, with the help of donors, are amending their governance structure to offer parents an alternative to government-funded public schools.

The report, entitled “Catholic School Renaissance,” chronicles the changes that have been made to Catholic schools across the country.

“New approaches to organizing, governing, funding, and staffing these schools are showing that this sector can be financially sustainable, in addition to producing terrific student outcomes. Donors of all faiths, and even no faith, are participating—recognizing the valuable things that Catholic schools do for the nation, in particular by educating inner-city children who have been failed by many other sectors,” the report said.

The director of the K-12 program at the Philanthropy Roundtable, an organization that connects donors to educational and other types of projects, said that donors are interested in supporting Catholic schools because of the beliefs and interest in the development of character that these institutions market.

“The teaching of the faith and how that is integrated and woven through [the curriculum] is really the secret sauce,” Anthony Pienta, who played an integral role in producing the report, said.

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