Published on Dec. 29, 2024 on mlive.com | By Danielle James
Enrollment is up by 7.23% for the 31 Catholic schools within the Diocese of Grand Rapids since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 6,456 students enrolled for the 2024-25 school year. During the 2020-21 school year, 6,267 students were enrolled.
Dave Faber, superintendent of Catholic schools, said the diocese has spent years planning and conducting outreach in partnership with its schools and parishes to bump up enrollment. “We are building our enrollment from the bottom up, beginning with childcare and providing educational ministry to the whole family,” he said. “By expanding our programs and our spaces we are able to serve more children fulfilling our Catholic mission.”
Sarah Toepfer, director of marketing and admissions for Catholic schools, said the diocese is finding success reaching “the youngest among us.” “We’re showing record preschool numbers, year over year over year,” she said.
The Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids includes 26 elementary and five high schools. For the 2024-25 school year, 1,000 preschool children were reported as enrolled. Toepfer said this growth is spurring the construction of new buildings and building remodels to accommodate greater youth enrollment.
“Some of these schools... are full with waiting lists. I think our hope is that all of our schools have the capacity and that they’re able to sustain,” she said. “We’re watching the universal preschool that’s going to happen across Michigan, and how we can participate in that program too.”
St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School, 2750 Burton St. SE, built and launched a new early childhood building this year that includes childcare, Toepfer said. Saint Thomas the Apostle Catholic School, 1429 Wilcox Park Dr. SE, is remodeling a building near the existing campus for early education.
In Fremont, a little under 50 miles away from Grand Rapids, the diocese opened Bishop Baraga Academy in August, with 31 students from daycare through preschool. Toepfer said the school will grow by a grade level each year to accommodate students as they graduate, similar to the model implemented at other recently opened schools in the area.
Eight of the diocese’s 31 schools are also currently engaged in fundraising campaigns to further invest in facilities and resources. Toepfer said some of those campaigns center around physical building upgrades, while others focus on increasing staff compensation and expanding student tuition assistance.
St. Michael elementary school in Remus, a little over 60 miles northeast of Grand Rapids, has a capital campaign specific to tuition assistance, she said.
For students interested in attending Catholic school and concerned about the cost, Toepfer said a scholarship is available across the diocese for students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
The needs-based scholarship, which opened in October, has received 650 applications for the 2025-26 school year, with [nearly] 450 scholarships awarded. Enrollment season kicks off in January.
Individual schools also offer more localized scholarships, Toepfer said, either merit-based or through endowment funds and grants. “There’s just a lot of momentum right now in Catholic education, especially this time of year,” she said. “We focus a lot on joy and peace and love, and it’s so reflective of our school atmosphere.”
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