Parochial Schools Enrollment

In a move aimed at bolstering parochial school enrollment, officials of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles have announced plans to consolidate four of their secondary schools. Officials announced the opening of two all-girls' campuses in the Southeast area, one at the site of Pius X High School in Downey and another at the site of Regina Caeli school in Compton. Beginning in September, students attending St.

Reeling from a lawsuit by parents and a mass defection of students, the highly regarded St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal School "most likely" will eliminate grades two through eight next year, officials said Friday afternoon. Twenty teachers were notified by letter this week that their contracts will not be renewed, officials said.

It was an entry typical of high school yearbooks, the meaning of inside jokes lost over time but the youthful humor in evidence: "Roger Mahony, local salesman for Mother Fletcher's Nose Slings, recently purchased twin barracudas from Charlie's Fish Hatchery. He plans to raise them in the swimming pool."

Richard Weston was one parent who never thought he would enroll his daughters in a religious school. He didn't trust them. What's more, they scared him. Raised in a nonobservant Jewish household, he worried that his three daughters would be indoctrinated in a strict religious ideology and culture that would drive a wedge between him and his children. "I had nothing of that in my background," he said. "Deep down, I think I was somewhat mistrustful of religion but also afraid that my kids would .

Folk singers Bev and Jerry Praver entertained students at St. Juliana Falconieri School this weekas part of Catholic Schools Week, when teachers throughout the country thank students for enrolling in Catholic schools. "This is fun," said 10-year-old A.J. Santos, who was playing with a "limberjack," a wooden puppet that can be made to dance. The Pravers sang and taught students how to play spoons, the autoharp and other traditional folk instruments.

Religion isn't the only thing attracting more people to the nation's religious schools these days. Many parents like the wholesome atmosphere. "Our school is free of drugs, free of violence and free of sex," said Sulaiman Alfraih, principal of the boys' school at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Washington. "Regardless of their ideology, the parents love to see their kids in a very safe, clean environment," Alfraih said. The atmosphere of some religious schools was once considered stifling.

In the spring of 1954, an 18-year-old seminary student graduated from a newly opened campus in the San Fernando Valley. He continued through the Los Angeles Catholic seminary system to become a priest, bishop and eventually the cardinal of the Los Angeles archdiocese. And so it fell to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony to announce earlier this month that he must close his own alma mater, Our Lady Queen of Angels High School Seminary in Mission Hills.

Richard Weston was one parent who never thought he would enroll his daughters in a religious school. He didn't trust them. What's more, they scared him. Raised in a nonobservant Jewish household, he worried that his three daughters would be indoctrinated in a strict religious ideology and culture that would drive a wedge between him and his children. "I had nothing of that in my background," he said. "Deep down, I think I was somewhat mistrustful of religion but also afraid that my kids would .

Reeling from a lawsuit by parents and a mass defection of students, the highly regarded St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal School "most likely" will eliminate grades two through eight next year, officials said Friday afternoon. Twenty teachers were notified by letter this week that their contracts will not be renewed, officials said.

In the spring of 1954, an 18-year-old from North Hollywood graduated from the newly opened high school seminary campus here and continued through the Los Angeles Catholic seminary system to become a priest, bishop, and eventually head of the nation's most populous archdiocese. But it fell to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles to announce this month that he must close his alma mater next year.

Five times each school year, star wide receiver Todd Fenton of Notre Dame High is required to attend a Catholic service at the Sherman Oaks campus. Each morning, before class begins, he respectfully stands for the pledge of allegiance and listens to a prayer read over the intercom. "In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. . . ." Fenton enrolled at Notre Dame three years ago because of its strong academic reputation and successful sports program.

Folk singers Bev and Jerry Praver entertained students at St. Juliana Falconieri School this weekas part of Catholic Schools Week, when teachers throughout the country thank students for enrolling in Catholic schools. "This is fun," said 10-year-old A.J. Santos, who was playing with a "limberjack," a wooden puppet that can be made to dance. The Pravers sang and taught students how to play spoons, the autoharp and other traditional folk instruments.

Religion isn't the only thing attracting more people to the nation's religious schools these days. Many parents like the wholesome atmosphere. "Our school is free of drugs, free of violence and free of sex," said Sulaiman Alfraih, principal of the boys' school at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Washington. "Regardless of their ideology, the parents love to see their kids in a very safe, clean environment," Alfraih said. The atmosphere of some religious schools was once considered stifling.

In a move aimed at bolstering parochial school enrollment, officials of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles have announced plans to consolidate four of their secondary schools. Officials announced the opening of two all-girls' campuses in the Southeast area, one at the site of Pius X High School in Downey and another at the site of Regina Caeli school in Compton. Beginning in September, students attending St.

It was an entry typical of high school yearbooks, the meaning of inside jokes lost over time but the youthful humor in evidence: "Roger Mahony, local salesman for Mother Fletcher's Nose Slings, recently purchased twin barracudas from Charlie's Fish Hatchery. He plans to raise them in the swimming pool."

In the spring of 1954, an 18-year-old seminary student graduated from a newly opened campus in the San Fernando Valley. He continued through the Los Angeles Catholic seminary system to become a priest, bishop and eventually the cardinal of the Los Angeles archdiocese. And so it fell to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony to announce earlier this month that he must close his own alma mater, Our Lady Queen of Angels High School Seminary in Mission Hills.

Five times each school year, star wide receiver Todd Fenton of Notre Dame High is required to attend a Catholic service at the Sherman Oaks campus. Each morning, before class begins, he respectfully stands for the pledge of allegiance and listens to a prayer read over the intercom. "In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. . . ." Fenton enrolled at Notre Dame three years ago because of its strong academic reputation and successful sports program.

Roman Catholic elementary schools, struggling to remain affordable in the face of declining enrollments, continue to win respect as an alternative to American public education. Three of four parochial school teachers are not priests or sisters, however, and 10% of the students are not Catholic.

In the spring of 1954, an 18-year-old from North Hollywood graduated from the newly opened high school seminary campus here and continued through the Los Angeles Catholic seminary system to become a priest, bishop, and eventually head of the nation's most populous archdiocese. But it fell to Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles to announce this month that he must close his alma mater next year.

Roman Catholic elementary schools, struggling to remain affordable in the face of declining enrollments, continue to win respect as an alternative to American public education. Three of four parochial school teachers are not priests or sisters, however, and 10% of the students are not Catholic.