Roman Catholic schools that converted from private schools to public charter schools experienced a significant increase in student enrollment, finds a recent analysis from the Friedman Foundation, an Indianapolis-based, pro-school-choice group.
The report looks at enrollment data in Miami, Indianapolis, and the District of Columbia—before and after the transition—and finds that schools that switched flourished, while those that didn’t either shut down or continued with limited resources.
In all, 18 schools were examined. They lost, on average, 7.3 students per year. After the switch, however, they gained an average of 34.4 students per year, the study found. They no longer taught Catholic doctrine or religion, the authors say.
