Catholic schools struggle to survive

Catholic schools in New York City were considered the go-to alternative for public schools in the early 1960s. But since then the schools have seen a major decline in enrollment. As a result, many of them have closed. The archdiocese has tried combatting the problem with a variety of approaches including lobbying the state legislature to create a tax credit for people who donate to Catholic schools, and allowing a private non-profit group to run daily operations of six schools. The results have been mixed, and combatting the problem of declining enrollment will be difficult because of the growing number of charter schools, which offer a similar educational experience and don’t charge tuition.