A National Study of Regional Catholic School Systems

This article presents the results of an inquiry into the advantages and disadvantages of regional Catholic school systems, executed by practitioners in the field of Catholic Education. The findings support the idea that the regional Catholic school system is a valuable strategy for providing Catholic education in areas where traditional parish-based schools are no longer viable and suggest that the six major school functions--management, educational programming, school community, Catholic identity, finances, and enrollment--are strengthened as a result of the regional Catholic school system approach. The findings indicate that implementation of the regional system will be most successful when it is supported by all the stakeholders, especially the clergy involved with the schools