Urban Catholic School Enrollment Shifts in the Wake of Charter Schools

• In Event: Current Issues in Catholic K-12 Schools

Abstract

Catholic schools face greater competitive pressure as charter schools expand within cities. This paper uses longitudinal data from a sample of public and private schools in twelve large U.S. “Rust Belt” cities to investigate if charter schools have an impact on Catholic school enrollments. Using a fixed-effects approach, I estimate the effect of charter schools on the enrollment of nearby Catholic schools using a fixed-effects approach. Additionally, I check for heterogeneous effects across cities, grade levels, and race/ethnicity groups. Policy implications for Catholic school leaders and researchers are discussed.

Author

• Richard Joseph Waddington, University of Notre Dame