Let’s Talk

“ Let’s Talk ” A series by Julia Fanara, Head of School

Last year, I wrote an article responding to the question, “Are we still Catholic?” This year, I am responding to the question about enrollment.

When Alverno Heights Academy opened in 1960, it was the height of Catholic school enrollment around the nation. Catholic schools were opening all around Los Angeles throughout the 50s and 60s. Alverno is one of the youngest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (ADLA).

Don Bosco Tech - 1955 (all boys’) Flintridge-Sacred Heart - 1931 (all girls’) Holy Family High School - 1937 (all girls’) Immaculate Heart High School - 1907 (all girls’) La Salle - 1956 (co-ed) Mayfield - 1931 (all girls’) Ramona Convent - 1889 (all girls’) St. Francis High School - 1955 (all boys’)

In 1960, Alverno was quite a draw! Many girls wanted to come to a brand new school with all of the modern conveniences of the time, rather than the old, stuffy schools that were around the area. La Salle, which was all boys’ back then, was right down the street, making it convenient for shared use of the facilities (theirs, not ours). We had a brother school. Enrollment in the 1960s was numbering in the 100+/ per class range. However, as you know, the 1960s was a decade of change and transition — and the church was no different. Catholics experienced the changes that came with Vatican II. Some of the changes included sisters no longer wearing habits and moving out of the convents, and the altar being turned around so that the priest faced the congregation, speaking to us in our native tongue rather than Latin. In the 70s we began singing with guitars and clapping our hands, rather than listening to a choir sing from above with organ music, and the communion rail became obsolete. The changes in the Church also brought a new way to view religion and parents were less inclined to send their children to Catholic schools. More and more students began leaving and enrollment began to falter. What was once a 50 student, double classroom expectation was now becoming a single classroom with 35 to 40 students in the elementary schools. Those lower numbers began affecting the numbers in the classrooms at the high school level in the late 70s and 80s.

In 1977 the Sisters of St. Francis sold Alverno High School to the Immaculate Heart Community. They could see that the enrollment was dropping, not only at Alverno, but also within their own ranks. Women were not pursuing the sisterhood like they did in the 40s and 50s. Women had more options. With the sale of the school, the new charism, and the change in thought around Catholic school education, Alverno did struggle

with enrollment. La Salle was going through the same thing and seriously thought about closing its doors. This is when they began to think about going coed. They started considering it in the early ‘70s! (Correspondence, 1972)

By the late ‘80s Alverno had approximately 240 students enrolled. In 1991, La Salle went coed which greatly affected enrollment at Alverno over the next few years. Classes that had been 70+ were now in the 40+ or 50+ range. Each year in the early 90s, the faculty was unsure if Dr. Broome, the principal at the time, would come in to tell us that the Board had decided to close the school. They never did and we fought our way back. In the early 2000’s we were a strong 280 again. And then, the recession hit. As you know, Alverno is a school that appeals to the middle class family and with the recession, middle class families were hit the hardest. Our sister schools were also hit very hard; and they began to accept students who would previously have been Alverno students by offering them large scholarships in order to keep their numbers up. We were all competing for the same girls in a declining market. The years of declining enrollment along with the need for a major facelift at the school resulted in fewer and fewer students attending. Around 2014, we also began to fight the homeschooling phenomenon and charter schools. Catholic school education was not a priority for many young parents. This is not unique to Alverno. Please see the statistics below to give you a sense of what Catholic schools in the area are dealing with. Alverno is considered a private school (although our numbers reflect more like those of the archdiocesan schools).

As evidenced by the charts below, Catholic education is suffering in the archdiocese. Alverno has taken quite a blow with a 13.1% drop in girls attending all girls’ schools, and an 11.6% drop overall in the San Gabriel Valley over the last five years.

Alverno currently fluctuates between 150-165 students, depending on incoming class size and attrition in other classes. We currently have 40 or over in our 9th, 10th, and 11th grades, but a small senior class. Alverno does, however, fit a very unique niche. Because we are small, we are able to provide individual attention to our students making us very desirable in this time of stress and anxiety in education. We also have a brand new athletic field which is attracting young, talented athletes to our campus. We are continuing to reach out to new areas to the east offering transportation from the Inland Empire and the Whittier/Hacienda Heights areas next year. We are also exploring other options to increase enrollment. We are continuing the good fight and with your help we will get there sooner. Although we are a fraction of the numbers that once were in a former time, we are still the same Alverno Heights Academy. Our goal is to get to 200 students — 50/class! Currently, we are small, but mighty. Come by and see us when you are in the area. If you would like to donate to Alverno, please see page 17.

2019 Preliminary Enrollment by School Governance

Fall 2018 Fall 2019 # change % change 3 year % 5 year %

Archdiocese/Parish 12,243 11,626 -617 -5.0% -12.0% 15.7%

Private 12,354 12,159 -195 -1.6% -3.7 -5.0

Total 24,597 23,785 -812 -3.3% -7.9% -10.6%

2019 Preliminary Enrollment by School Type

Fall 2018 Fall 2019 # change % change 3 year % 5 year %

Co-Ed 13,309 12,770 -539 -4.0% -10.0% -12.5%

All Boys 5,911 5,912 1 0.0% -1.9% -3.4%

All Girls 5,377 5,103 -274 -5.12% -9.2% -13.1%

CONGRATULATIONS Class of 2019

The 38 members of the Class of 2019 celebrated their many achievements in a beautiful ceremony surrounded by family, friends and beloved faculty and staff. Alverno’s newest alumnae, these ambitious ladies are already doing amazing things at their new schools. We dearly miss having them on campus (come visit if you’re still local!), but are so incredibly proud of the empowered women they are becoming.