For Immediate Release: April 26, 2001

L.A. County Supervisor Antonovich Joins Pacific Research Institute in Recognizing Catholic School Success in LA

Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Catholic schools are providing top quality education to low-income and minority children with half the resources of Los Angeles public schools, according to Helping Hand: How Private Philanthropy and Catholic Schools Serve Low-Income Children in Los Angeles, a new study from the San Francisco-based Pacific Research Institute. The study reveals that Los Angeles public schools, on average, spend nearly double that of Catholic high schools, and nearly triple that of Catholic elementary schools.

The Los Angeles Archdiocese reports that Catholic schools have fewer dropouts and more students continuing on to college than the surrounding public schools, despite the difference in funding. Catholic high schools spend less than $5,000 per student annually, and an average of $2,200 per elementary student annually. Public schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) spend $9,029 per student.

The study’s authors surveyed more than 13,000 Los Angeles families whose children attend Catholic schools, as well as Catholic school principals. Helping Hand pays particular attention to the children receiving scholarships from the Catholic Education Foundation, which provides a means for low-income Los Angeles children to attend Catholic schools. A majority of the Catholic Education Foundation scholarship recipients are from minority families, and nearly half of all recipients are Hispanic.

"Children of all races and religious affiliations choose Catholic education over neighborhood public schools, which on average rank below district and state performance averages," said co-authors Thomas Dawson, Fellow in Education Studies at PRI, and Professor Eric Helland, Claremont McKenna College. "Without the scholarships, these children would still be trapped in some of the worst schools in L.A. Unified."

The study evaluates the reasons behind Catholic schools’ success, and points to the management practices Catholic schools have adopted to maximize their efficiency, including allowing principals to control staff hiring and firing.

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To schedule an interview, contact Dawn Dingwell at 415/989-0833, ext. 136. The Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy think tank in San Francisco, CA. The Institute’s Center for School Reform works to advance high academic standards, teacher quality, and school finance reform, and to restore to all parents the basic right to choose the best educational opportunities for their children.