Enrollment in US Catholic schools rebounds after sharp drop

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO
Associated Press

Enrollment in Catholic schools in the United States rose 3.8% from the previous academic year, rebounding from a sharp drop caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Catholic education officials say it is the largest increase in two decades. Nationwide enrollment rose by 62,000 students from the 2020-2021 school year to about 1.68 million. Elementary and middle schools were harder hit between the 2019-2020 and the 2020-2021 school year by the pandemic with a collective enrollment decline of 8.1%, compared with a 2.5% decline for secondary schools. Catholic elementary schools had a 5.8% increase in enrollment this year; secondary schools had a very slight drop of less than 1%.