Catholic educators learn strategies to attract, serve more Latino families

Thirty-five percent of all practicing Catholics in the U.S. are Latino, and since 1960, 70% of the growth in the U.S. Catholic Church has come from Latino families. At 62.1 million, Latinos represent the largest — and youngest — ethnic minority population in the U.S. One of every two children in the U.S. is Latino.

But “regrettably,” only 4% of Latino Catholic children nationwide are enrolled in Catholic schools, said Katy Lichon of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, who presented the data at an April 26-27 conference for Catholic educators on attracting and serving Latinos in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. While small, the 4% enrollment today is a “divine providential opportunity,” Lichon said.

If U.S. Catholic schools enrolled 5-10% of Latino Catholic children, “we would never close another school,” Lichon said. She quickly added that efforts to boost Latino student enrollment “is not just (about) getting children in our door;” it’s about serving children well and setting them up for success, she said. “If we get this right for this generation of children, we’re forming our next set of teachers, our next business leaders, our next president, for example,” she said.

The Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota, the fifth-largest grant maker in the state, sponsored the conference, called the “Twin Cities Latino Enrollment Institute.” The foundation’s mission is to financially support three areas in the Catholic community: spiritual, educational and social, said its president, Anne Cullen Miller, who opened the conference and thanked those who came to learn “how to better serve our Latino students.”

Education is by far the largest pillar of its discretionary grant making, Cullen Miller said. The biggest portion of that funding is used for tuition assistance, grants that help families afford Catholic schools, she said. Catholic schools in the archdiocese reported K-12 enrollment of 27,023 students for the current school year, including about 9% Latino students.

Lichon, director of the Catholic School Advantage program at Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education, was among presenters at the conference, which was held at the University of St. Thomas’ Minneapolis campus. About 75 people participated. Most represented Catholic schools, such as pastors, principals, enrollment and advancement directors, but others were from organizations that support or fund Catholic schools and scholars.

Presenters also included staff members of CSA’s largest program, the Latino Enrollment Institute, who identify and help Catholic schools in areas that have growing Latino populations, a substantial number of “open seats” in classrooms and principals motivated to serve Latino families.

In large and small group gatherings, topics addressed included recognizing gifts Latinos bring to the Church and society, creating schools that are “culturally responsive” to Latino families, embracing diverse cultures as an asset in schools, cultivating parental involvement from Latino parents, marketing to the Latino community, and serving and teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students. Participants were given guidance and practice time for developing an “action plan” for their schools.

A welcoming school environment might include Latino religious imagery and staff who help make non-English speakers feel at home, presenters said. Schools can build relationships with Latino families, develop strategies for teaching students who are learning English, set up classrooms that reflect diversity and choose books by Latino authors or with Latinos as main characters, said Manny Fernandez, LEI’s program director.

Jason Slattery, the archdiocese’s director of Catholic education, recalled how schools in the archdiocese were founded in the late 1800s to serve the needs of that era’s Catholic immigrant population, “to meet them where they were and to help them find a new way in a new nation.” Yet he believes that in today’s culture it’s just as difficult for a Catholic child to grow up and have a chance of hearing the Gospel.

“When we look at our Latino brothers and sisters, when we look at the beautiful culture that they come out of … do we see that same urgency?” he asked, to see their children as essential and to believe that the Gospel is something that every one of those children need.

He encouraged attendees to reach out to families and describe the value of archdiocesan schools and to think about “that sense of mission, that real imperative of the Gospel to go out and to really teach all nations.”

Archbishop Bernard Hebda welcomed people to the conference, saying it was designed to provide concrete steps to better serve “our Latino brothers and sisters.”

“And who else is better situated to do this work than Catholic schools?” he asked.

“Our Catholic faith is universal,” the archbishop said. “Our Catholic Church finds itself or needs to find itself at home in all cultures.”

Jesus makes it possible for all cultures and people to be united, he said, in their true, common humanity and unique, special individuality.

“Through this event today, we have the opportunity to learn more about that individuality, the riches that the Latino cultures bring to our Church, and we hope … we’ll welcome more and more families to our Catholic schools,” Archbishop Hebda said. “Likewise, I anticipate we will engage with the strengths of our Catholic schools and how they can be put at the service of Latino families and children.”

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REACHING LATINO STUDENTS

Conference Participant Claudia Bauer, administrative and marketing assistant at St. Dominic School in Northfield, who also has worked as the Latino outreach coordinator for the archdiocese, said she knows how immigrant students feel. She emigrated from Mexico to the U.S. at age 10 with her family, where she was placed in third grade, a grade behind, because she could not speak English. During testing days, she was sent to the school library to “do computer games because I didn’t understand any English.”

Bauer said she appreciated the information at the conference, which she can share with staff members at her school. Latino enrollment at St. Dominic is low, Bauer said, but staff members plan to reach out to the Latino community to enroll students at the school.

David Sorkin, head of school at St. Hubert Catholic School in Chanhassen, said the conference provided useful and practical tips to help schools build their Latino outreach, including using the Madrinas model (an outreach program for recruiting and retaining Latino families in Catholic schools) to build and strengthen relationships, and hosting community events that highlight and teach Latino culture and traditions.

“Also, we can take steps to make our building more welcoming by including a variety of cultural elements and having materials and signage in Spanish,” Sorkin said.

About 5% of the students enrolled at St. Hubert are Latino, Sorkin said, with many coming after last year’s closing of Guardian Angels School in Chaska. “And we anticipate and hope for that to grow,” he said of Latino enrollment.

Oona Myhre, St. Hubert’s preschool director, said 12 Latinos are among 135 children in five sections of toddlers to preschoolers enrolled this year. “Kids spend a lot of time in the preschool space and we really want to make sure that it’s their second home, and their family,” she said. One of the 16 preschool staff members is Latino, helping bridge the gap, Myhre said.

“We want to ensure that when they come into the classroom, that it feels like it’s their space, too,” Myhre said. “We’re being very intentional,” she added, with staff learning Spanish phrases, adding artwork and inviting parents to share about their culture.

Joseph Olson, admissions director at St. Agnes School in St. Paul, said a conference take-away and an important message for all Catholic schools is that “the good folks from Latino communities are seeking a true and unapologetic Catholic experience in our schools, and if we offer that, and make it clear we are on a journey together to heaven, they will feel safe and well served in our institutions.”