Milwaukee area Catholic school enrollment up for 1st time in 13 years

Legislation passed late in the summer has allowed the Milwaukee Parental School Choice program to expand to more schools in southeast Wisconsin and already five schools have jumped at the opportunity.

St. Thomas More High School, Milwaukee; St. Martin of Tours, Franklin; and in Racine Our Lady of Grace Academy, St. Joseph Elementary School and John Paul II Academy are welcoming choice students.

Kathleen Cepelka, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, said parents have a right to choose a Catholic education for their children.

“I am supportive of all Catholic social teachings, including the ways in which our schools serve the needs of the disadvantaged,” Cepelka said.

Catholic schools have shown an increase in enrollment in the choice program from 7,502 students last year to 8,831 this year; about 27 percent of all Catholic students are school choice.

“We’re up, enrollment-wise, by about 1 percent,” Cepelka said. “It’s the first time in 13 years that we’ve seen an enrollment increase.”

continue at Mil Cath Herald

They have a nice chart there of total enrollment numbers.