BALTIMORE (MD)
The Daily Record [Baltimore MD]
September 17, 2026
By Mark R. Smith
Key takeaways:
- Archdiocese filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 over abuse claims
- Baltimore Catholic school enrollment down 80% since mid-1960s peak
- Mercy High School enrollment grew 50% since 2017
- Judge Michelle Harner rejected reorganization plans in August
The Archdiocese of Baltimore began the 2026-27 school year with one less school than it operated last year. The closure of St. Michael-St. Clement School — a Pre-K3 through eighth grade school borne of consolidation of the two schools about a decade ago — comes amid decades of declining enrollment and other hurdles that have forced several area Catholic schools to close in the past 15 years.
A glance at numbers from the National Catholic Education Association tells that basic story of enrollment: The U.S. peak in the mid-1960s reached 12,893 schools with enrollment of 5,253,000; today, those numbers have plummeted to 5,828 schools with 1,675,000 students.
Today in Baltimore, there are approximately 15,000 students enrolled in the Archdiocese’s 40 schools thus far this school year, down from a peak after post-World War II growth that reached approximately 74,000 students in the mid-1960s at the height of the Baby Boom.
However, a sharp decline followed in the late ’60s and early ’70s; with today’s enrollment at Catholic schools now at about 20% of its once lofty heights, Gregory Farno, chancellor of education for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, discussed changes in the market and what the organization is doing to attract students and grow — in the wake of the massive sexual abuse lawsuit that was filed against it after a 2023 Maryland Attorney General‘s Report.
Courtside
In response, the AOB filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court to handle claims against the church collectively, which has some observers wondering how it might affect its schools.
In early August, Associate Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland Michelle Harner rejected the Archdiocese’s and the survivors’ reorganization plans, citing confusion, lack of clarity and legal flaws that prevent confirmation under bankruptcy law. The Archdiocese proposed $440 million in compensation, while the survivors’ committee is seeking $873 million, with about 1,000 claims pending; the AOB has also proposed keeping parishes’ assets separate, which is a point of contention for survivors.
The next move is slated for a Sept. 30 hearing (on the third anniversary of the bankruptcy filing) with Harner to consider whether to proceed with the bankruptcy or reconsider confirmation.
In response, Farno said, “The Archdiocese, as a corporate entity, not schools and parishes, filed for Chapter 11 in Sept. 2023, concerning the abuse claims. We’re working our way through that now.”
Evolving market
As for enrollment, Farno noted that a look at the bigger picture reveals various reasons for that drop in enrollment, not the least of which is cost, which today ranges from about $7,000 to $19,000 (which is often lower than many private schools), as well as the reduction in the number of nuns and priests teaching as part of their vocation.
Reopening quickly when the pandemic struck provided an unlikely boost.
“When COVID-19 hit, everyone went home,” Farno said, “but Catholic schools reopened much faster than most schools and other places, in general. That led to an enrollment gain and we didn’t really lose students when public schools reopened.”
To get a broader snapshot of the enrollment of the 40 AOB schools during the past 10 years, Farno said enrollment “had dropped 14%” (there are 18 more private Catholic schools with 25,000 students in the Baltimore area).
“Last year, we were up 1%.” But as for why the enrollment is so much less than what it was back in the day, he noted that “the population of school-age children is going down, faster in some parts of the state than others. However, while that 1% means the pie may have gotten smaller, we’re increasing market share. That means a greater percentage of parents are choosing Catholic education. So, we’re optimistic.”
As for this year’s enrollment numbers, Farno said the AOB will have a headcount “by the end of September,” when the enrollment period for the new school year concludes.
One reason for his optimism is bright spots that rise along the Catholic school horizon. For instance, Mercy High School (which operates under the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas) “has experienced 50% growth to 445 students enrolled in grades 9-12 since 2017,” said spokesperson Heather Mork.
While acknowledging “a dip around the country after the 2008 recession,” Mork, like Farno, noted “some growth” around the pandemic, but at Mercy that was also due to “in 2019 becoming the only all-girls Catholic school in the area that offers the International Baccalaureate program.”
Inside job
To keep the schools growing, Farno said the AOB will focus on retention.
“That’s our best enrollment strategy,” he said, “especially when there are many things out of our control, such as families moving, job changes and financial concerns.”
For instance, an AOB school may have a student in a pre-K program, “but once they get to kindergarten, we know they can go to public school,” said Farno. “It’s a similar situation with rising 5th graders who are moving up to secondary schools.”
What makes the retention approach click, he said, is building relationships.
“Families want to be known, heard and valued. So an administration needs to make that investment in intentional family engagement,” Farno said, “and to realize that those families we retain talk to new people. We recruit year-round with admission events to make that happen at local preschools to help families make informed decisions.”
Another hurdle is cost. “It’s a big decision for parents,” Farno said, “and can, in some cases, cause a great level of personal financial sacrifice,” though there are various avenues to assist with that issue.
Funds available
Vince Cascone, owner of Kansas City, Kansas-based Seton Educational Services and former superintendent of the Archdiocese of Kansas City (Kansas), observed the boost in Catholic school enrollment after COVID-19, but also noted other reasons that came into play.
“At that point, Catholic school enrollment went up about 3.8% nationally for different reasons,” he said, including the introduction of programs like School Choice (which starts Jan. 1, 2027, and is part of The Big, Beautiful Bill), which offers a federal tax credit. It allows taxpayers to donate $1,700 to Scholarship Granting Organizations and it’s available to private (as well as public) school students.
Thirty-one states have opted into the program, but so far Maryland is not among them. “[States] can have their own programs,” said Cascone, “and students can use the money for tuition, tutoring, supplies,” etc.
As for the overall Catholic school scene, he feels it has its strong and weak points.
“Some Catholic schools are struggling and some are exploding. Some could take a few more students, but had to be capped because they favor slow, steady growth,” said Cascone. “However, the overall approach is that this isn’t just about getting kids in seats. It’s about creating the total experience for them.”
As for the local market, Ashley Berner, associate professor and director of The Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, said her team “has worked with the AOB on numerous occasions and is generally impressed with what it sees.”
While acknowledging the AOB’s school closures in recent years, Berner said that, overall, the system seems to be “a well-run, and racially and socio-economically diverse, community.” She also noted that the Catholic school sector is growing.
“It was down several years ago,” Berner said, “but has been steadily increasing every year because there is greater access to school choice legislation, in the Southeast in particular. Statistics from the NCEA suggest that a greater share of Catholic school students are enrolling due to such programs that distribute scholarships, often to the neediest students.”
Maryland’s voucher program for low-income students to attend private schools is smaller than that of many states. The Maryland BOOST program, for instance, “only distributed 3,000 scholarships last year,” she said, “and about half of the recipients went to Catholic schools.”
Berner noted that, while such voucher programs cause contention in the U.S., state funding for a wide variety of schools “is common around the world.”
Tech talk
Taking the broad view of how Catholic schools can build enrollment was Daryl Hagan, director/research assistant professor for the Department of Education at the Washington, D.C.-based Catholic University of America. He feels that, at this point in societal evolution, it starts with technology.
“Incorporating artificial intelligence with human dignity is important,” said Hagan. “Pope Leo XIV said the decisive point is not the technology, but how a person uses it. The concern is not letting technology drive what we do, because we in the Catholic church focus on human development.”
He also stressed that growth depends on the region and state, particularly where parents have more freedom to send kids to schools outside of their home jurisdiction.
“Florida and Indiana are clearly two growing markets for Catholic schools because of that opportunity,” Hagan said, “and the federal initiatives are another reason families, from in and out of the church, choose Catholic schools.”
Then came his third point. “We must strive to make our schools academically excellent and authentically Catholic,” he said, “by creating Lumen Accreditations, as well as teacher, leader and board formation. That’s our focus.”
Cascone feels the Catholic schools have to canvass different sectors to grow, with a keen eye cast “on the Hispanic market, which comprises 40% of the Catholic population, but only 18% of school enrollment. Also,” he said, “about 20% of our students are not Catholic; we can expand by reaching to the greater population.”
But what does research show is the No. 1 factor to improve any school? “Strong leadership,” he said.
While Cascone added that “tuition factors present an inverted picture, but what we charge is generally about 30% below what it actually costs to educate a student in private schools,” Farno said it all comes back to relationships, which include making the community and businesses aware that they can donate money to families that opt for a Catholic education.
Farno reiterated what he feels has been the main point of a Catholic school education all along.
“We can do the most creative advertising,” he said, “but nothing beats word of mouth. That’s automatic credibility. Our families that share the word are our ambassadors.