JOLIET – The story of enrollment at Catholic schools within the Diocese of Joliet is a mixed bag, Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Joliet John Belmonte said.

Several weeks ago, Catholic school students, teachers and parents in the diocese marched to raise awareness of about 5,000 empty classroom seats – about 400 more than last year – and the availability of financial scholarships. But enrollment has been "relatively more stable" in Will County than in DuPage County, Belmonte said.

“On the one hand, you do have headwinds that the [Joliet] diocese faces that all Catholic schools face but a lot of programs we’ve made has met good results, so it’s a mixed bag,” he said.

Increasing the number of students within Catholic schools has been a challenge for the Joliet diocese but church officials have been meeting it by marketing the schools more, raising awareness of financial needs and recruiting more families.

As families struggle to afford tuition costs to send their children to Catholic schools, a Joliet nonprofit that works with the diocese has focused on increasing the amount it gives out in scholarships to help put more students in the classrooms.

Struggling enrollment

The Joliet diocese has 21 schools in Will County – six in Joliet – and 32 schools in DuPage County, along with schools in Grundy and Kendall counties. Of the schools, one-third are at full capacity, one-third are close to capacity and one-third are under capacity, Belmonte said.

The schools with declining enrollment have been in
DuPage County, where there is an aging demographic.

“Will County has been a little bit different because we have been able to do Latino student recruitment there,” he said.

Because there is a growing Latino population in Will County, diocesan officials have adjusted their recruitment strategies to encourage the enrollment of more Latino students. Joliet diocesan schools saw a 40 percent increase in Latino students at the elementary level between 2010 and 2014.

Belmonte said enrollment has always been an issue for diocesan schools as it has with Catholic schools nationwide.

Since the 2004-05 academic year for Catholic schools nationwide, there has been an about 20 percent decrease in enrollment with just under 2 million students enrolled, according to the National Catholic Education Association.

For Joliet diocesan schools, enrollment was 19,500 last year and schools have a capacity for 24,000 students.

Belmonte said some of the factors involved for decreasing enrollment include aging demographics, families struggling from the recession and shifting populations.

Financial assistance

The Catholic Education Foundation has been working with the Joliet diocese to raise funds for scholarships and other needs. Since 1996, when the foundation began, more than $16 million in need-based scholarships was awarded to 18,000 students in all grade levels.

But the amount it is raising is not enough. Joe Langenderfer, CEF executive director, said the foundation sees 3,400 students on average who apply for scholarships but the CEF can only award 1,600 based on its funding, which has been increasing slightly every year to about $2 million this year.

Langenderfer said at the grade school level, scholarships usually cover between $700 and $1,500 in tuition costs, which is about $4,000.

At the high school level, the most a child receives in scholarships is $1,000 to cover a tuition cost of $10,000, he said.

He said the foundation would like to raise more money because “it’s a superior education.”

“We’re producing superior church and business leaders. There is a return in investment and that is the message I try to get out,” Langenderfer said.