OGDENSBURG — Catholic schools in the Diocese of Ogdensburg had the highest loss of students by percentage in the nation over the past decade, according to a Gannett News Service study of figures compiled by National Catholic Educational Association.
The diocese had 26 schools open to teach 5,134 students in the 1997-98 school year, but has only 15 schools left to educate 2,569 pupils this school year.
NEARLY 50% DECLINE
The loss of 2,565 students over the past decade represents a nearly 50 percent decline, the highest percentage among the 176 Roman Catholic dioceses in the nation.
Several schools in the Ogdensburg diocese have closed their doors over the years for various reasons, including declining population, changing demographics, a struggling economy and rising costs. The recent closings of schools in Lowville and Potsdam reflect the changing times.
"As you go across the country, the number of Catholic schools has declined and the student enrollment has declined," Diocese Superintendent Sister Ellen Rose Coughlin said. "The demographics of the Catholic schools in the north country is changing, but public schools are also losing students."
Other dioceses around the state have similar showings, with Syracuse third, Rochester sixth and Buffalo 12th for highest loss of students by percentage, according to the Gannett analysis.
SCHOOLS CONSOLIDATED
"The population of students that we draw from is declining," Sister Ellen Rose said. "There are simply fewer children around."
The eight-county diocese has 13 elementary schools and two middle-high schools within an area covering 12,036 square miles.
When a school closes, the diocese looks at nearby Catholic schools to absorb some of the students. The diocese a few years ago consolidated several schools in the Plattsburgh area in forming Seton Academy, an elementary school educating children in kindergarten through sixth grade.
Two of the four Catholic elementary schools in Watertown — Sacred Heart and St. Anthony's — were closed in 2004 as part of a consolidation effort.
A bright spot for the Ogdensburg diocese can be found in Jefferson County Catholic schools, with the impact of Fort Drum having stabilized enrollment numbers in recent years. Enrollment numbers weren't available.
"A good portion of the enrollment in those schools is children from Fort Drum," Sister Ellen Rose said.
The diocese has been proactive in attempting to stop the decline. A symposium in November at Lake Placid, attended by all school principals, leaders and several area politicians, outlined numerous strategies and a direction for keeping Catholic schools in the Ogdensburg diocese open in the future.
"Our entire Catholic school system, we want to make them available, accessible and affordable to everyone," Sister Ellen Rose said. "One way we continue to do that is by soliciting support from the entire Catholic community."
