A summary break down of research report "Sector Switchers: Why Catholic Schools Convert to Charters and What Happens Next" by The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice

1. SECTOR
SWITCHERS
Why Catholic Schools Convert
to Charters and What
Happens Next
breaking down

2. Private school enrollment
has fluctuated over time for
5 REASONS

3. REASON 1
Financial hardship of families
amidst a tumultuous economy
makes affording private tuition
difficult.

4. REASON 2
The shift from clergy educators
to lay teachers has made
school operations more
expensive. That increased cost
is reflected in tuition rates.

5. Many of the private schools in
urban centers are Catholic. A
demographic shift in urban
areas away from predominantly
Catholic immigrant populations
has affected demand.
REASON 3

6. REASON 4
To keep tuition rates low, Catholic schools
subsidize operation costs with contributions
from parishioners. In recent decades across
the country, religious giving as a percentage
of personal income has decreased from about
1.2 percent of personal income in 1963 to less
than 0.9 percent of personal income in 2003.
As giving declines, schools must make up for
costs in other ways, often raising tuition rates,
which inadvertently prices out
many urban families.

7. REASON 5
Increased competition from
public charter schools.
VS.

8. From 2001 to 2011, the number of private
Catholic schools decreased at a rate more
than THREE times (15.6 percent) that of
the previous decade (4.6 percent).
12K
10K
8K
6K
4K
2K
0
1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011
SCHOOLS
9,640 9,401 8,992
8,508 8,250 8,144 7,955 7,378
6,841

9. A trend among private Catholic
schools is emerging in urban
centers in response to that
increasing decline.

10. They are
switching their
status by dropping
the religious
component and
becoming public
charter schools

11. Why?

12. Those private Catholic schools were
going to close for economic reasons, and
buildings, devoted educators, and loyal
families would be left behind.
“We did not choose charter schools as
opposed to Catholic schools; we chose
charter schools over empty buildings.”
–Thomas Burnford, Secretary of Education,
Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

13. Our researchers
Michael Q. McShane Andrew P. Kelly

14. examined 18 Catholic
schools in three major cities

15. using a matched
comparison method

16. and conducting interviews
with individuals
knowledgeable about the
decision to switch sectors and
the environment at the time.

17. What did
they find?

18. After switching to a public charter, former
Catholic schools began serving more minority
students than their private counterparts.
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2
PercentageofMinorityEnrollment
Year 0 = Last Year Before Switch to Charter
67%65%
70%
74%
66%
80%
76%
83%
76%
82% 79%
79% 78%
88%
93%
Comparison Switcher

19. Enrollment in switcher schools increased
more than schools that remained private.
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
-5-6 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2
Enrollment
Year 0 = Last Year Before Switch to Charter
Comparison Switcher
245
299
233 224
190 203
153
214
242
168 153 162 166 177
167
151

20. Schools that decided to convert to charter
schools did so based on a number of
unique criteria, including percentage of
non-Catholic students they already
taught, whether the neighborhood had
fewer Catholic families, and whether the
school needed more resources and
facility upgrades.

21. Some switcher schools remained largely
the same, keeping principals and
teachers, some changed dramatically.

22. Some switcher schools offered
wraparound religious services to its
remaining Catholic families.

23. Switcher schools reported serving more
children with special needs once going
charter.

24. Rent, which the archdiocese in D.C.
charges the converted charter schools
($3.2 mil they paid combined in 2011),
has resulted in increased funds for the
church to support local parishes.

25. a substantial portion ($900,000/year) of
which went toward tuition assistance for
students in remaining Catholic schools.

26. In Indianapolis, the $1 mil of support the
archdiocese provides as tuition
assistance for Catholic schools gets split
among four schools now instead of six.

27. Comparable schools that remained
private Catholic report seeing very few
students leave the switcher schools to
attend their Catholic school.

28. Is “switching”
the right term?

29. The Catholic schools that became public
charters don’t consider that action
“switching.”
-Beth Blaufus, president of a
Washington D.C. Catholic school,
said her school could never “switch” or
“convert” to a charter school, as its
Catholic identity is central to its mission.
“It is not an element,” she said. “It is the
reason we do what we do.”

30. How could Catholic schools have
avoided closing during a
socioeconomic shift in their
communities?

31. Most schools said: If a #schoolchoice
voucher program with strong funding
existed in their states, more families who
already desire their school would be able
to afford tuition—increasing enrollment
and resources to serve them.

32. Download the full report
for more details at
edchoice.org/SectorSwitchers