Addressing the Needs of Young Children and Families:Early Childhood Education and Services in Catholic Schools and Catholic Charities

Abstract

Nationally, focus is increasing on the developmental experiences of young children (birth to age 8). Twenty four (arch)dioceses in large metropolitan areas participated in a survey identifying the extent and nature of services provided by Catholic schools and Catholic Charities programs to young children and their families. Six hundred and seventy Catholic schools and 100 Catholic Charities programs completed surveys. Key findings suggest that Catholic schools and Catholic Charities programs are engaged in a plethora of early childhood services and educational activities with young children and families. Both entities provide direct education and services to young children, are engaged in supporting families through a variety of initiatives, and have complementary as well as distinctive approaches. Opportunities were identified within Catholic Schools and within Catholic Charities programs. The potential benefits of increasing collaborations between Catholic schools and Catholic Charities programs, and with others, were highlighted to comprehensively meet the varied (and, at times, extensive) needs of young children and families.

Examining the Legacy of Urban Catholic Schooling in the U.S.: A Systematic Literature Review

“…There has been a tradition of Catholic education scholarship asserting that student population patterns in urban Catholic schools have followed U.S. migration patterns, noting that as European immigrant communities left cities and new non-white populations entered cities in the latter twentieth century, urban Catholic schools in those cities became much more racially and socioeconomically diverse (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2001;York, 1996;Youniss, 1998). Louie and Holdaway's (2009) analysis of immigrant student populations attending Catholic schools in New York City and Barrueco et al's (2016) more recent analysis of the demographic composition of children enrolled in Catholic preschool and daycare programs confirmed that urban Catholic schools have at times continued to serve these populations. Further, both studies suggested that urban Catholic schools often attract low-income communities of color living in cities because of the perception that these schools are well-suited to meet the needs of these communities.…”

“…We found only three studies that primarily focused on empirically analyzing or comparing demographic trends among student populations in urban Catholic schools and other settings (Barrueco et al, 2016;Louie & Holdaway, 2009;Murnane & Reardon, 2018). Only one of these three (Louie & Holdaway, 2009) focused its analysis exclusively on students attending urban Catholic schools.…”

“…drew on data collected from New York adults who had attended Catholic schools through the early 2000s andBarrueco et al (2016) only focused on early childhood educational services.Murnane and Reardon (2018) addressed broader demographic trends in more recent urban Catholic elementary and secondary school settings. This study of private school enrollment used longitudinal data trends from the federal Private School Universe Survey (PSS) to describe how the composition of different private school segments has shifted in recent years.…”