Jun 28, 2022, 3:58 PM
(Manhattan Institute) From 2019-20 to 2020-21, Catholic school enrollment across the nation increased by 3.8%, the first increase in two decades and the largest recorded increase by the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA). Catholic schools had a decline in enrollment of 6.4% from 2019-2020 to 2020-2021, the largest single year decline in the 50 years NCEA has collected data. Experts believe the jump was due to concerted efforts of Catholic schools to open classrooms while many public and charter schools remained closed to in-person learning.
All six regions, including New England and the Mideast, experienced an enrollment rebound in 2021–22. Two of the six regions—the Plains and the Southeast—saw increases that nearly made up for their initial 2020–21 decline. Catholic elementary schools had a 5.8% increase in enrollment this year while secondary schools had a slight decline of 0.4%. Pre-kindergarten enrollment increased by 33.5% from 2020-2021 to 2021-2022. Overall enrollment, however, is down compared to pre-pandemic levels.
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