June 27, 2008

Parochial schools unfazed by Metro school system shake-up

Katie Lewis, Tennessee Register

The stacked desks and taped boxes in the hallway are a sign of change, but Tim Keogh said that the state’s tightening of control of the Metro Nashville public school system likely would not affect Holy Rosary Academy.

Since the school is mainly supported by parishioners of Holy Rosary and St. Stephen, which is in Wilson County and not affected by the Metro changes, the HRA principal anticipates a regular school year – his second at the K-8 Catholic school.

“What we’re seeing is a slight increase of school-age kids everywhere,” he said, gesturing in his office. Given the state of the economy, he said, families might be hesitant to leave their tuition-free public school, though he suggested that perhaps the general public is not yet “savvy” about the changes to come.

Sue Baumgartner, principal of St. Edward School, agreed.

“I’m not sure if parents really have a grip of what’s going to happen with Metro,” said Baumgartner, who taught in Williamson County for 15 years before moving to St. Edward.

The state’s intervention with the Metro school system follows four consecutive years of low student performance, failing to meet the state standards of No Child Left Behind.

The Tennessee Department of Education has already announced a reorganization of some of Metro’s central office staff and functions, converting the Department of Teaching and Learning into a newly structured Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

Since parochial and Metro schools use different testing measures, it is difficult to compare performance, said Keogh.

However, schools across the diocese are achieving standardized test scores above the national average. The most recent results available of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, the standardized test administered in elementary schools in the diocese each spring, showed students averaging scores above their grade level in every subject.

Parental involvement is key to student success. “I think that when children have a community supporting them, they’re more successful,” said Therese Williams, superintendent of diocesan schools. “Our parents believe it.”

Regarding Metro’s problems, Williams said, “As far as their test scores and the state taking over their schools, I don’t think that’ll affect us.” Only if Metro schools are closed, she said, would some parochial schools see a change in enrollment, Williams added.

St. Ann School principal John Foreman, for one, is not hoping for a heavy migration of students from Metro public schools, because his school on Charlotte Avenue in Nashville is already near capacity.

He is hoping for a strong public school system in Metro.

“I feel for those families that may not have other options and their school is struggling,” he said. “It’s certainly not our job in Catholic schools to try to outdo public schools. It’s two different school systems with two different missions.”

Foreman said interest in St. Ann’s has increased over the past three to four years, but he is pleased with the current 200-student capacity.

“I, at St. Ann’s, don’t want to be a vulture looking for problems. I’d rather be someone who says, ‘How can we help somebody?’”

St. Vincent de Paul School in North Nashville has been plagued by dwindling enrollment for years. This academic year saw just 38 students in pre-K through fourth grade after last year’s erasure of the fifth through eighth grades.

Father John Eaton, OFM, currently serving as both the principal of the school and pastor of the parish, said that habitually low enrollment caused the school to be “pretty aggressive” in marketing St. Vincent’s before Metro’s problems arose. Though the school has been receiving calls from parents in the Metro system, he said, there is no indication Metro’s problems will lead to a surge in enrollment at St. Vincent.

Keogh said that he found the amount of Metro’s unaccredited schools – 65 percent of elementary and middle schools – “surprising.” He called a school’s accreditation “the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.” Holy Rosary’s certificate of accreditation hangs at eye level in the main office.

The Catholic Schools Office acts as an “accrediting agent,” making a yearly report to the state, said Williams.

With “no specific plan to capitalize,” Keogh looks to his second year at HRA as holding exciting internal changes. The middle school is moving upstairs and a house system, similar to Pope John Paul II High School’s, is being established “to promote positive leadership.”

“I think the Catholic schools overall have earned a reputation for strong academics,” he said. And that is something that enrollment numbers cannot affect.