Originally published at Orange County Catholic
IT’S A NATIONAL TREND that has many U.S. Catholic educators concerned: declining Catholic school enrollment.
In the past 10 years, Catholic school (PK-12) enrollment in the U.S. has fallen 14 percent, losing more than 281,000 students, according to the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA).
LA PURÍSIMA CATHOLIC SCHOOL (ORANGE) STUDENTS SHOW THEIR LOVE FOR OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE. PHOTOS COURTESY OF PAX CHRISTIE ACADEMIES
In the Diocese of Orange, a new network of Catholic K-8 schools, Pax Christi Academies, is working to buck that trend.
“We are in an age and a time where we have to take a look at things in a different way,” said Bishop Kevin Vann. “Pax Christi Academies allows a network of our Catholic schools to work together, share resources and support each other to serve our students.”
Pax Christi Academies began after an analysis of the financial health of diocesan schools, which found that in the past 20 years eight schools in the Diocese were closed, and many of the schools in North and Central Orange County were only 60 percent full.
YOUNG STUDENTS FROM ST. BARBARA CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN SANTA ANA SMILE FOR THE CAMERA.
“We didn’t view these schools as
