CHARLOTTE, N.C. — According to a data brief released by the National Catholic Education Association, Catholic school enrollment across the nation rose by 3.8%, the first increase in two decades and the largest recorded by the NCEA. 

What You Need To Know

  • Enrollment in Catholic schools is growing across the nation

  • The National Catholic Educational Association reports the first increase in two decades

  • The Diocese of Charlotte experienced 10% growth in enrollment since the pandemic began

This is a trend we are seeing in the Charlotte region, too.

The Diocese of Charlotte says its student body across its 19 schools grew by 10% since the start of the pandemic.

The diocese has 7,500 students enrolled across western North Carolina.

A diocese spokesperson says they were able to provide in-person instruction throughout the pandemic, with only a few instances of schools shifting to remote learning for brief periods.

The diocese says that’s why some families have decided to make the switch to Catholic schools.

“We talk about in-person instruction, but it’s more than that,” said Gregory Monroe, the Mecklenburg-area Catholic schools superintendent. "We have pathways for different learners. We have a foundation for character development, leadership skill growth and critical thinking, and it works. Almost all of our kids graduate high school, and 96% go on to college.”

Having an in-person learning option is why one family decided to transfer their son from public school to Catholic school.

Andrew Baich spent half of his sophomore year and most of his junior year remotely because of the pandemic.

His mother, Terri Baich, says she began to notice a shift in Andrew while he went to school virtually.

“People used to say, 'Does Andrew ever quit smiling? He’s just so happy,' and he is. He’s one of those happy-go-lucky kind of kids,” she said. “And as time went on, we noticed he was needing something different than what we were able to provide here.”

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This fall, Andrew will be heading off to the University of Georgia to study engineering.

And that means he needs a good basis of math, but when he was learning remotely, he says he couldn’t get the help he needed.

“You can’t always get the teacher's attention if you have a question,” he said.

While he used his grades from his time in public school to apply to college, with the exception of a few schools that required his senior year grades, his mom says it was worth it to transfer him for his last year of high school.

“If he had to sit at the end of the dining room table and been online and not have access to teachers and peers and other adults really interested in helping him progress, it’s questionable where he would be today, and I can see the confidence and the growth he’s had this year,” she said.

As many other schools have resumed normal operations, the diocese says more than 95% of transfers have remained in their schools.