Desperately seeking students
Enrollment also down in Gallup Catholic Schools

Joseph Burnham teaches a freshman religion class in a room with a handful of empty seats. Though enrollment high school grades is healthy, the enrollment of the elementary grades are down. The superintendent, Angelo DiPaolo expressed that is was a corcern to see this trend, but was quick to state that similar happenings are occurring at other schools. Despite the drop in enrollment in the lower grades, DiPaolo remains confident that the school offers a "solid Catholic product" for students. [Photo by Daniel Zollinger/Independent]

By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — While officials at the county public schools are still grappling with a decrease in student population of more than 200, the other two local schools are dealing with enrollment issues of their own.

Officials at the Rehoboth Christian School are looking at a 25 student increase this year, while over to the west, the Catholic schools are seeing a decline of about 25 students.

With 435 students enrolled so far this year, Rehoboth registrar Loretta Smith said school officials are hoping to see a few more students enrolling over the next few weeks. “We could use some more students for our sixth grade and kindergarten,” she said.

It may be coincidental that Rehoboth’s gain this year matches the local Catholic school’s losses, but officials for both schools are quick to say that the two school systems aren’t competing for the same students. In fact, Smith attributes Rehoboth’s gain to the fact that the school is doing more promotion this year.

Angelo DiPaolo, superintendent of the Gallup Catholic Schools, said he knows one of the reason why the Catholic schools are seeing a decrease this year — Catholic families moving out of town to get better jobs or because they were reassigned.

He said he knew of three Catholic families — all with three or four children enrolled in the system last year — who have left.

“That really hurts,” he said.

He also thinks that the student population will increase as the year goes on. Right now the enrollment stands at about 265.

“Last year we started at about 285 and picked up some students along the way, topping off at 301,” he said.

He doesn’t think the tuition costs are that much of a factor, since the schools provide financial aid to those in need. The tuition ranges from $3,000 a year for elementary school pupils to $3,500 for high school students. Parents with more than one child in the system get a tuition break for their other children.

There are a few cases each year where parents examine both the Catholic schools and the ones at Rehoboth, but DiPaolo said he expects that the choice is not made on tuition.

“We each offer different things.”

Those who believe that the Catholic school system is made up of a lot of pupils who for one reason or another don’t fit into the public school system have the wrong notion as well.

Pupils who want to sign up to go to one of the Catholic schools in the midst of the school year because they have been expelled from public school have to go through a screening process to determine just how well they will fit in with other pupils. And DiPaolo said if it is felt that the pupil will have an adverse effect on other pupils, he or she will not be accepted.

“I don’t want to give the impression that we worried about the declining enrollment, because we are not,” he said.

He pointed out that the average student-teacher ratio in the school system in 20-1 and there are some classes where it is less than that.

“We’re more interested in providing a good, solid Catholic education,” he said.