What Traits Do Past Honor Roll Schools Share?

Several traits tend to single out the best Catholic schools

The Honor Roll's research over the past six years has resulted in many interesting pieces of information concerning the nature and condition of Catholic secondary education. It is apparent that the best Catholic schools share several key traits in common:

Many non-Catholics still send their children to Catholic schools

Of all the schools that applied for the 2012 Honor Roll, the average percentage of Catholic students was 85.1%. This indicates that there are still a large number of non-Catholic families that are willing to spend tuition on a Catholic education for their children. There are two main reasons for this.

The first is that Catholic schools on the whole still provide the strong academic formation they have long been famous for. Discipline problems are not usually tolerated, creating an environment more conducive to learning.

Second, Catholic schools provide a moral environment that fosters moral formation, virtue, leadership, self-respect, friendship, and recognition of the dignity of the human person. This context is one that any parent desires, whether Catholic or non-Catholic.

These points are no doubt true of Honor Roll schools. These schools enroll and accept non-Catholic students, treating them with the same respect and dignity as the Catholic students. Parents of non-Catholic students know what to expect when sending their children to these schools.

Many Catholic schools are in need of serious changes

It is no secret that many Catholic schools are experiencing a loss of traditional Catholic identity, a weakening of academic standards, and the support of views contrary to Church teaching.  It is no surprise that in some places schools are closing, attendance is falling, financial struggles are common, and Catholic schools are beginning to resemble public schools.

The question that naturally arises is “what can concerned people do to enact serious improvement?”  The Honor Roll hopes to contribute to a reversal of these trends, and despite the many challenges in Catholic secondary education, those schools that face these struggles with excellence and integrity deserve to be recognized.

Parents still care about Catholic education

Parents today still want their children to receive outstanding moral and religious formation so as to provide them with the foundation needed to excel in all aspects of life.  Recently, a renewed focus and emphasis on quality Catholic education has been manifested in the opening of many new schools and in the founding of numerous organizations that address and support Catholic education. 

As one of those initiatives, the Honor Roll provides parents a useful tool for making informed choices about their children’s education.   Until now, parents had few tools with which to compare the performance of Catholic high schools to other schools. How Catholic high schools rate on academic performance and whether they have been able to resist the general decline in educational standards that has occurred in the public school system are questions that were difficult to answer before.

Catholic schools differ widely from public schools

Comparing Catholic schools to public schools generates a lopsided result.  While many studies claim to see no large differences between the two, it is clear that Catholic schools excel in numerous areas. 

For one, Catholic schools cost less.  While most Catholic high schools keep tuition between $5,000 and $10,000 before tuition assistance, public schools often average spending over $15,000 per student each year.  Catholic schools provide a great service to society by educating its students.  Many outside of Catholic education even ask how Catholic schools can do so much with so little.

Catholic schools also provide well what is most important:  faith.  This is the prime factor that separates the two school systems, and is the driving force behind the very existence of Catholic schools to begin with.  Faith is the reason parents choose to spend thousands of dollars each year on education when they could send their children to public schools without cost.  The religious and moral formation is priceless.