Exploration of Faith, Justice, and Evangelization in Catholic Education: History of Catholic Parish Schools in the United States

This course introduces Catholic schooling in the United States and surveys the historical development and contemporary trends in Catholic Parish schools, the most significant and influential form of Catholic schooling. Beginning with the establishment of Catholic mission schools in the 16thand 17thcenturies and continuing through the establishment of the first parish school in 1783, this course introduces some of the main events and movements that significantly impacted the founding and growth of Catholic schools in the U.S. The course then explores how the unique context of the United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s, combined with edicts from the Catholic Church, led to Catholic schools becoming the largest system of private schools in the United States. The course follows this analysis of growth with the exploration of the dramatic consolidation of Catholic schools and the current context of Parish schools that has led to the rise of new models of Catholic schooling.