On the following pages, we will refer to “Southwest St. Louis City”. This is the area served by the 10 Catholic schools which have joined together in the City Catholic Collaborative. Because these 10 schools serve their own parishes and two additional parishes whose schools closed in recent years, the data which follows includes these 10 schools and 12 parishes: Epiphany of Our Lord (parish only) Immaculate Heart of Mary Our Lady of Sorrows St. Ambrose St. Gabriel the Archangel St. James the Greater St. Joan of Arc St. John the Baptist St. Margaret of Scotland St. Mary Magdalen (parish only) St. Raphael the Archangel St. Stephen Protomartyr Boundaries of the City of St. Louis 1

The population of Southwest St. Louis City has been on a decline for decades. The population data below is taken from the U.S. Census and represents the total population (both Catholic and non-Catholic) living within the boundaries of parishes of the Southwest City area. This decline in population has been accompanied by an even greater decline in the number of Catholics. 2 % of Population that is Catholic38%34%26%23%

The graphs below show the decline in school enrollment for the Catholic schools in Southwest City. 3

The primary cause of decreased enrollment is the decline in the number of Catholic children. This is demonstrated by the continual decline in baptisms over the past couple of decades. There are many young people in Southwest St. Louis City and probably 25-30% of these young people were raised Catholic. Thus, the number of births is still relatively strong, but, in general, births are not resulting in the same percentage of Catholic baptisms as in previous years. 4 Percent of Births that Result in a Catholic Baptism Average39% Average33% Average26%

As enrollment has declined and classrooms have had empty seats, this has had a profound impact on the finances of our parishes. The per student cost shown below is school expense divided by the number of students; and tuition charged is for parishioner 1 st child. The difference, of course, is made up through fund raising and parish investment. The parish school is a ministry of the parish and should be funded, in part, out of general parish revenue. There are two parish calculations which demonstrate the impact of this parish investment: 1.The percent of parish revenue from the offertory collection that is invested in the school, 2.The percent of school expense that is covered by tuition Southwest ( school year)City SchoolsArchdiocese Cost to Educate per student$5,249$5,188 Tuition (parishioner, 1st child)$4,500$3, Southwest City SchoolsArchdiocese % of Parish Revenue Invested in the School32%28% % of School Expense That Is Covered by Tuition71%68%

Myth # 1 – Our South City Catholic Schools are “neighborhood” parish schools. In Southwest City, 57% of Catholic school students live in the boundaries of the parish where they attend school. Families are making choices about which parish they will worship at and which school their children attend. Parish boundaries are no longer as relevant as they used to be. Percent of Students Living in Parish Boundaries Immaculate Heart of Mary60% Our Lady of Sorrows73% St. Ambrose37% St. Gabriel the Archangel76% St. James the Greater52% St. Joan of Arc57% St. John the Baptist61% St. Margaret of Scotland40% St. Raphael the Archangel36% St. Stephen Protomartyr68% Average57% 6

7 Myth #2 – If a parish doesn’t have it’s own school, the families in that parish will not choose Catholic education for their children. The percent of children in Catholic schools is about the same as the percent of the population that is Catholic, whether the parish has a school or not. % of all Children Age 5-13 Living in Parish Boundaries that attend any City Catholic Parish School % of Resident Population that is Catholic Southwest City Parishes With Schools21%22% Southwest City Parishes Without Schools*17%19% All South City Parishes Without Schools**8%10% * There are only two Southwest City Parishes without schools (Epiphany of Our Lord and St. Mary Magdalen) ** In addition to the two SW City Parishes, this statistic includes the parish areas of St. Anthony of Padua, St. Pius V, St. Vincent de Paul, and St. John, Apostle & Evangelist