NWR: A few questions about parochial schools if you can help.

ootmother2

Do you have to be Catholic to attend your parish's school?  Or at least one parent a member of the parish?

Question involves a couple, he's Catholic, she's Presbyterian, they were married in the Catholic Church.  They have two daughters, 9 & 7 and 4 year old twin boys, all were christened inthe Presbyterian church.

The two girls go to a private school about 20 minutes away but for too complicated reasons to explain, the parents want the twins to go to the local parochial school in their town where they live now.  It's an excellent school, probably as good a school as the one the girls attend.

How does this all work?  Do the parents just pay extra tuition because they are not members of the parish? Will the twins have to "convert"? (not sure how that would work with kids that young)

The parents are of the opinion, "One family, one religion" so wouldn't this create confusion or discomfort for the girls even if the boys didn't have to convert?

Please don't make me go to the bump to get answers because I should know the answer to this!

Resa77

I can only speak for my parish, but for us, non-Catholics and non-parishioners can attend the parish school, but pay extra tuition.  Non-Catholics are not required to convert, but are NOT exempt from religion class, prayers, or Mass.  Hope this helps

divinemsbee

As the daughter of a Catholic and a very lapsed Baptist turned humanist, who attended Catholic school for 13 years, no, both parents do not have to be Catholic. They also do not have to be members of the parish, there are many schools that are not attached to churches (my elementary did, but my junior high/high school didn't). My siblings and I were raised Catholic, but about 30% of my school was another form of Christian or non-religious and at least 50% of my teachers were. You did pay more if you were a non-Catholic family, though. I remember my Mom had to go to our priest and get documents of her membership and her tithing throughout the year when she re-enrolled every year.

They will not have to convert. The one thing is that there will be religion classes that will, especially in elementary school, cover things like First Communion and Reconciliation. We did do a First Communion and First Confession at school, as well as the one I did in my home parish. The school you're looking at may not do that. The kids will go to Mass, we did once a week and Holy Days, as well as Adoration once a month. I'm not sure how this was handled with the non-Catholic parents and students, but I know it was, and I don't think anyone thought any less of it. There will also be things like prayer in class, and they might also learn how to pray the rosary, and possibly teachers that are members of holy orders. As they get older, they will have religion classes that cover cannon law as well as some world religion classes, something I found fascinating.

debbiem56

We also accept non-parishioners at a higher tuition rate.  Parishioners must have contributed a certain amount the previous year and be "active" in the parish.  In Ohio, we have educational vouchers from the state for students who live in an underachieving school district to attend the school of their choice, so more than half of our students are not parishioners.

ElisabethJoanne

All the Catholic schools in this area accept non-Catholics, and I've never heard of different tuition costs, even.

My family is evangelical, and my sister attended a Jesuit high school. My fiance is Jewish, and he attended a Catholic high school. It took 20 years, but what he learned there is a big part of why he's becoming Catholic now.

As for the "one family, one religion" thing, that's up to this family to deal with. Obviously, a Catholic school will teach Catholicism (we hope). The parents will have to address how they handle that at home among their children and maybe a bit with the school faculty. [Making sure a Presbyterian kid isn't bullied for being Presbyterian, for example]

They should be aware, though, that parents clash with school administrators over something at every school, and that no kid is immune from being made fun of for something. [If a kid isn't made fun of for his religion, it'll be his shoes, or his hair color, or his name, or something. If parents are fine with their children attending Mass, they may not be fine with how President Hoover is presented in history class, or how early or late the children start learning fractions in math class. When I told my fiance, who attended gradeschool abroad and in another state, about certain big art+history projects that are very standard in public and private schools in this state, he already planned the argument with the teacher about our (non-existent) children doing them.]

TeaForMe

I teach at a Catholic school and we have non-Catholic students for sure. Not even all of our staff is Catholic. Some schools have lower tuition for registered/active parishioners but not all (ours doesn't, mostly because we are trying to recruit more families from several churches).

We have weekly mass and all students attend, regardless of faith. Students do have religion lessons (Catholic) but are not required to practice the faith. The parents will still be able to teach their own religious values to their kids at home. And I know the students at my school and at my nieces' school are some of the most considerate and thoughtful kids I've met so I wouldn't be concerned with anyone making fun of them for being of a different faith; It would clash with the values being taught at a Catholic school.

Really for the most part, it's just a regular school.

bibliophile2010

The schools in this area alll seem to have three tuition tiers: Parish members, active members of other parishes, and non-Catholics (we've been doing advance research). However, non-Catholics are certainly welcome at the schools. My H went to Catholic high school and said that there were people there of all faiths.

All that said, I'm sure that the rules vary by school, by diocese, and by operating organization. I'm sure a call to the school your friends are considering would answer any questions pretty readily.

daria24

I attended Catholic school in Central PA-all children were welcome, though non-Catholics paid a slightly higher rate, because the county Catholic churches subsidized tuition (you don't belong to a participating Church, you don't get the subsidy).

However my cousin teaches at a Catholic school in Delaware. The school has so many applicants, they only have space for about 1/4 of Catholic applicants, so they do not take non-Catholic children.

ootmother2

Thank you ladies for your replies.  There was no Catholic school in the small town where I grew up so I had no idea what to say when asked for an opinion.

The twins are hellions but my understanding is that male twins at that age often are..  Perhaps this will help