I recently attended the Latino Enrollment Initiative with the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) at Notre Dame. Amy Weidner and Barbara Blad attended with me. It was very interesting, information, and challenging.

The statistics were overwhelming:

• by 2020, Latinos will be the majority of Catholics in the U.S.
• Latinos who attend Catholic schools are 42% more likely to graduate from high school.
• Latinos who graduate from Catholic schools are 2.5 times more likely to graduate from college than their peers in public schools.
• 54% of Catholic parents with school age children are Latino.
• Children who attend Catholic school are much more likely to attend Mass.
• Children who attend Catholic school are much more likely to practice their Faith, attend Mass, be leaders in the Church, to vote, and to be engaged in civic life.

Parishes need to see their schools as a ministry which evangelizes all the children of the parish. The school has to be welcoming, accessible, affordable, and culturally appropriate.

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