Schools see uptick in enrollment inquiries

By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press

Catholic schools, which have long prayed for increased enrollment, now have waiting lists – due to the coronavirus.
“It’s my hope … that we can find a spot for as many students as possible,” David Perda, superintendent of Catholic Schools, told The Catholic Free Press Monday. “Because I think that if students and families get a glimpse of how authentic our schools are in integrating Gospel values with academics, they’re never going to leave. … They’re going to notice there’s something unique about Catholic education that you just can’t get in a public school.”
Many families want in-person learning, but, due to state guidelines for operating safely, some public school districts are unable teach students at school, he said. 
“The word on the street is that the Catholic schools are prepared to do it, so people are knocking on the doors,” he said.
Asked whether this is an opportunity for evangelization, Superintendent Perda said Catholic schools can provide the in-person learning families are seeking, but, on a deeper level, those families can gain a connection with Jesus there.
There have been so many problems stemming from the virus, but maybe this is an opportunity to “grow our faith,” he said.
It also presents challenges, one of which is finding needed space. Principals have been planning all summer how to accommodate existing students with social distancing requirements, the superintendent said.
While the state is not requiring Catholic schools to follow the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) guidelines, “we decided to follow” all of the health and safety guidelines, he said, referring to the diocesan, regional and private schools working with his office to provide in-person learning. 
“There may be a time where the Department of Public Health would require us to do something,” such as close school buildings, as happened this spring, he added.
Catholic schools were not required to submit their individual re-opening plans to the state, but they are going to, he said. He said they sent those same plans to their own school families Monday. This will allow them to get feedback from the families and the state in order to improve those plans, he said.
One state requirement is seating students three to six feet apart, and six feet for lunch, said Joan Matys, head of school at All Saints Academy in Webster. Since All Saints’ students will eat at their desks, their desks will be six feet apart, she said.
Compounding the challenge there is reduced space at All Saints: due to a board of trustees decision last fall, the school is consolidating campuses, using the Negus Street classroom building, but not the Day Street classroom building, she said. They will continue to use the Sport and Activity Center on Day Street, she said.
They have been inundated with requests from prospective families, including some from St. Joseph School in nearby North Grosvenordale, Connecticut, which closed, and those unhappy with public school reopening plans, Mrs. Matys said. However, she said, “We’re trying to give priority to our All Saints Academy families.” She said the school has waiting lists for some grades.
There are 200 available seats for the 2020-2021 school year, 190 students registered, and a waiting list of five for grades that are full, Ellen Tagg, business and marketing manager for All Saints, reported Tuesday. Twenty-two students who toured the school recently are possibilities. She said enrollment for the 2019-2020 school year was 188. 
“We have hired two teachers from St. Stephen’s,” Mrs. Matys said. But, due to geographical distance, All Saints did not get students from St. Stephen Elementary, or St. Mary’s, the two parish schools in Worcester which closed this year, she said.
St. Peter Central Catholic Elementary School in Worcester did get students from both of those schools, said Meg Kursonis, St. Peter’s principal.
In addition, “calls are coming in left and right” from prospective families seeking a different school than their children attended last year, she said.
People don’t always come to St. Peter’s seeking Jesus; they come for the academics and other reasons, “but when they’re here they learn about Jesus and it changes their lives,” she said.
“We’ve been praying for enrollment, but now have to hold back the numbers due to social distancing” and space limitations, she said. St. Peter’s can take up to about 340 students total, and has about 335 now, she said Tuesday. Some grades have spaces available, while others have waiting lists.
“We have capped enrollment in each grade level based on the size of the classrooms, so that we can ensure the proper social distancing,” Jeanmarie MacDonough, principal of St. Mary Elementary School in Shrewsbury, said Tuesday. Most classes in kindergarten through grade 8 are capped at 18, with a couple capped at 15, she said. Preschool and prekindergarten are capped a bit lower.
“We currently have waiting lists for just about every grade level,” with about 25-30 students total on those waiting lists, she said. “There is limited space in our two-day preschool program and our seventh grade.”
 Their interested returning students were accepted before new students, she said.
Superintendent Perda said he would have to see the numbers of students seeking to enroll in Catholic schools before considering any alternatives to turning away those who cannot be accommodated.