Catholic Schools in America

The separation of Church and State had its foundation in England from the time of Henry VIII.  The founding fathers brought this strong belief with them in forming the Constitution of the United States.  From the beginning religious run schools received no funding or help in any way.

From what I remember, in Australia, Catholic schools received no funding from the Government until the election of the Labor Party in 1972.  Before that, schools relied on parents paying school fees and buying books and uniforms.  By 1963 the Government offered a limited number of scholarships for lower secondary students, grants were given  for science laboratories and later money was allocated for libraries.  I think it was realised that if private schools closed in Australia the Government system would be over run and also it became a justice issue.  The Catholic system of schools in Australia is very extensive but it didn’t stop the DOGS – (Defence of Government Schools) mounting a number of  campaigns to stop government funding in the 70’s - (from their web site, it can be seen to be quite active today.)   ‘State Aid’ as it was called became accepted from the early 70's.

Catholic schools struggle in America.  With no funding, the system is no where near as comprehensive as in Australia.  Schools rely on support from the Parish (many Parishes have closed their Elementary or primary schools) and school fees.   Sioux Falls is three hours from us here in Crow Creek and has a population of 100,000 - the largest city in South Dakota. Sioux Falls Catholic schools attract clientele from middle and higher salary scales to make their schools viable and competitive.  This is probably true for many other Catholic and private schools across America.

Although Catholic schools are unable to service minorities in general, there were many Catholic schools involved in Native American Education.  In this area some are still prominent like Red Cloud in Pine Ridge operated by the Jesuits and St. Joseph's Indian school (run by SCJ's)  in nearby Chamberlain.  Most have passed control to the Native American people.  Crow Creek School was previously run by the Catholic Church until around 1970 when management was transferred to the Sioux Tribe. 

HISTORY OF STEPHAN:  Crow Creek Tribal school was established in 1886 previously called 'Immaculate Conception' (the signs and statues are still evident here.  It was run by the Benedictines and handed over to the Sioux people from 1970 - 1972 in phases.

Like Australia, there is a growing movement away from Public schools to private schools and Catholic schools are attracting many non Catholic students.  The reasons are well known including the expected ones: the teaching of Christian values, good discipline, sound curriculum and better results as shown by the Nation wide NCLB statistics.  Parents are willing to pay school fees, buy uniforms and supply textbooks in order to get the education they think is appropriate for their children.

There are no fees in Public schools and students attending private schools can not board public school buses.  Of course, many Public schools in America provide excellent education.  Kate's sister, Pat has worked at her High school in Logan, Iowa for 25 years and it is very impressive, not only for results but for top class facilities and the latest teaching materials.  Iowa has consistently been in the top three states in America educationally.

The lack of funding also applies to private Colleges (Universities) - some get a small amount of Federal funding but not State Funding.  Kate's sister has worked as a Biology professor at Augustana College in Sioux Falls for the past 25 years.  It specialises in Nursing, Mathematics, IT and Science and has a  reputation for excellence.  Maureen took us around and we were very impressed but the buildings are over 40 years old.  Originally, it was constructed for 4 million dollars but to replace it today would be around 40 million dollars.  They do have some 'state of the art' equipment such as $25 000 microscopes, incubators and some 'super-computers' in the biology laboratory costing $250 0000  but it has been paid for by donations, some Federal grants and fees. 

Sioux Falls has 3 Public Schools and 1 Catholic High School called O'Gorman High School catering for 1000 students.  O'Gorman High School has an excellent reputation.

Many people have the opinion that the Christian Brothers (scroll down to USA schools) have the best Catholic High Schools in America.