Diocesan Catholic school enrollment up nearly 5%

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator

As diocesan schools join with others across the country to celebrate Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 26 to Feb. 1, this year there is much to celebrate.

According to Stacia Thompson, coordinator of enrollment and outreach, Catholic schools in the Diocese of Sioux City have the best enrollment numbers in years.

“We are very pleased. We had nearly a 5% increase in enrollment which is the highest increase we have had since about 2010,” she said.

Although Thompson mentioned the increase in part was due to education savings accounts (ESAs), but she stressed the schools are also doing a better job of promoting their schools and inviting new families to come for a visit to see all of the great things that are happening.

Choice in education
“I think it’s a combination of both,” she noted. “The ESAs have really helped families that want to choose alternate education for their children other than the local public school. It has certainly made it more affordable.”

This is the second year the state of Iowa has offered ESAs, phasing it in over three years. 

Last year all kindergarteners, all students new to Catholic schools and students from families 
at or below 300% of federal poverty level qualified. This year, the qualification was raised to 400% of federal poverty level. Next school year, all Iowa K-12 students will qualify regardless of family income if they apply by the set deadline.

Of the 6,229 enrolled in diocesan Catholic schools this year, 4,138 were ESA recipients.

“We did gain a lot of kindergartners,” said Thompson. “We had almost 500 kindergartners this year so that’s exciting for us because once they are part of our system they tend to stay.”

Knowing that class sizes are now or will be larger than in the past in the lower grades can help schools with strategic planning for the future where necessary.

Principals comment
Tabitha Acree, elementary principal at St. Edmond Catholic School in Fort Dodge, said the school enrollment is 749, an increase of about 100 new students this year.

“ESAs have contributed some, but I also feel that our 3-year-old preschool program that started three years ago has also contributed to the increase in early elementary,” she said. “Students and families make connections with others in our school and want to continue their education in a PK3-12 school.”

A rural Catholic school in the diocese, Danbury Catholic, has experienced growth in the last two years, from 50 students enrolled in the 2022-23 school year to 60 students this year. 

“Some of the new students are due to preschool families coming in, and some are elementary families simply choosing Danbury Catholic as they try to find the best fit for their kids,” said Molly Petersen, principal of Danbury Catholic. “We have several alumni that have enrolled their young children, which has been fantastic to have the parents back in the building.”

She provided statistics related to the new students: 19% of the new students are children of alumni, 31% have siblings in the school, 38% come from the parish and 12% have no previous connection to the school.

Bryan Paulson, principal of Gehlen Catholic High School in Le Mars, said the school PK-12 enrollment is 563 this year, up by 60 students, which is a 12% increase.

“ESAs definitely helped some families make the final decision to join Gehlen,” he said. “However, it is very difficult to give an exact yes as to ESA being the only reason.”

The Gehlen principal called the increased enrollment a true blessing for the school.

“We are seeing more diversity,” said Paulson. “The increased enrollment is causing us to have makeshift rooms in closets and other areas. This has led to us looking at the possibility of expansion in the very near future.” 

Aligning with the other school leaders’ views that increases in enrollment are attributed to more than just ESAs, Petersen said she believes Danbury Catholic’s uptick in students is the result of word of mouth promotion by school parents.

“Looking over our list of new students in the building, I think they would have chosen Danbury Catholic whether or not they received the ESA,” said the principal, who noted that several families opted to send their children to the school even after the ESA application window had closed.

While ESAs have contributed to increased enrollment at Catholic schools across the state, Thompson cited a Jan. 17 press release from the Iowa Department of Education that announced fall enrollment numbers for public school districts held steady.

“So, there is not a mass exodus from our public schools,” said Thompson.

The press release announced there was a change of less than 1% (.63%) in public school enrollment this year.  Just 6.8% of current ESA recipients had attended public school last school year. 

As was noted, once students start in a Catholic school, they tend to stay. The same can be true for the public system.

Lower grades most impacted
“None of our schools are seeing a large number of students transferring in after middle school,” said Thompson. “It can be a hard transition to make and parents let students make those kinds of decisions now.”

She pointed out this year there were five schools with waiting lists – all in fourth grade and under.

Paulson mentioned there are no waiting lists at Gehlen, but two or three grades are near capacity for next year.

While ESAs are not available for preschool, more students are opting to start their children in the Catholic school at that point because they know it will be their choice for education. Plus, Thompson mentioned in some communities there are not many options for preschool.

There are students on a waiting list for the preschool at Danbury Catholic for the next three years, noted Petersen, who added that the school’s first/second grade classroom is full.

At St. Edmond, Acree said there are no waiting lists this year but there is already a waiting list for preschool next year and she anticipates there could be for other grades too.

“We are very excited about the increase in enrollment. Our goal is to provide all of our students with an excellent Catholic education where we can holistically form them to be Christian disciples,” said the St. Edmond principal. “I believe it’s important for families enrolling in our school to understand we are, above all, a Catholic school, and our faith is central to everything we do.  We will not compromise or apologize for our beliefs.” 

Peterson spoke of the strong family environment at Danbury Catholic that provides a welcoming environment to newcomers which she even experienced when she was new to town.

Applications for 2025-26 ESAs open in April and must be submitted by June 30. Applications are valid for one year; a family must apply annually to remain eligible for the ESA program.