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Oregon counters nationwide trend of falling Catholic-school enrollment |
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There's new attention being given to the plight of declining enrollment in Catholic schools, thanks to the combination of the recent U.S. visit by Pope Benedict XVI and President Bush's recent White House Summit on faith-based schools and inner-city children.
Enrollment nationwide has declined for decades, largely because rising tuition has made the schools less affordable. The steepest drops have been in large cities in the Midwest and Northeast, but the South and West, including Oregon, are seeing increases in enrollment.
At an April 24 White House summit called Inner-City Children and Faith-Based Schools, President Bush put forward a plan to address children trapped in low-performing public schools and the closure of religious schools because they lack students.
Bush renewed his call for spending $300 million on "Pell Grants for Kids," a voucher program fashioned after the popular federal Pell subsidies available to college students.
Complete story in Statesman Journal:http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080507/NEWS/805070469/1001
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