Catholic Schools in the Diocese of San Diego: A History of Service and Education for Catholic Youth

By John Franey

Developing a deeper understanding of the rich history of Catholic education in the Diocese of San Diego is greatly needed at this time. It is a crucial era for Catholic school sustainability and success. This book details the impressive history of Catholic schools in the Diocese of San Diego and provides the impetus for why a greater focus on revitalizing local Catholic education is so greatly needed. The book engages in a deep look at the religious sisters who served in Catholic schools, as well as individual looks at every Catholic K-8 school, high school, and university in the Diocese of San Diego. The purpose of this book is to bring Catholic schools and Catholic education back into the minds and hearts of Catholics, as well as to bring back the amazing memories that so many of us share of attending Catholic schools, of being taught by religious sisters, and of being provided a high-quality education filled with the Catholic faith and the values of Jesus Christ. It is our hope that this book, which includes over 50 photos of Catholic schools, touches the heart of every reader in a manner that gets them more involved in revitalizing and supporting Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of San Diego

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Franey
• Release date: Apr 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9780997460506

John Franey

Ph.D., University of San Diego: Leadership StudiesM.A., Cal State San Marcos: Teaching, Learning, & LeadershipB.A., Harvard University: Folklore & MythologyDr. John J. Franey is the founder and CEO of Developing Difference Makers, LLC, an organization focused on providing professional development and coaching in the areas of leadership, education, personal development, and athletics. Dr. Franey is a former college baseball player and graduate of Harvard University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of San Diego’s School of Leadership and Education Sciences with a specialization in K-12 Public/Private School Leadership. After serving for 10 years as a K-12 educator and coach, Dr. Franey worked for two years as a lead educational researcher at the University of San Diego. Having been a member of two Ivy League Championship teams as a baseball player at Harvard University, Dr. Franey believes strongly in the continual development of teams of individuals committed to success. He theorizes that the professional development of individuals and organizations should be a top priority for anyone interested in success. He is fully committed to making a difference in the lives of others through the work of the Developing Difference Makers organization.

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Introduction

Through the dedication of Catholic religious sisters and the backing of Catholic parishes, Catholic schools began opening throughout the United States of America in the 1700s. They were founded as a means to educate poor immigrant Catholic children and to protect them from the prejudice of the larger Protestant public. Most of these schools were opened in parishes that served poor urban neighborhoods with large numbers of ethnic minority Catholic immigrants, such as those who emigrated from Ireland. Catholic schools quickly became known for being safe havens in the most difficult of neighborhoods. In these neighborhoods, the Catholic parish was the heart of the ethnic community and the schools were a vital part of these communities. Catholic schools became a key means to fulfill the Catholic Church’s mission to serve the poor and less privileged. Catholic schools were America’s first charter schools in that they provided an option for parents to avoid public schools. Similar to modern day charter schools, Catholic schools offered: 1) a way out of bad public schools; 2) a school’s freedom to select its own curriculum, rather than adhere to government regulations; 3) academic, social, and physical development for the whole child, rather than just focusing on the core subjects of Math and English; 4) a place to instill morals and values; and 5) safety and discipline.

Catholic schools were so successful in fulfilling the mission of the Catholic Church to serve the poor and underprivileged, the Third Plenary Council of Catholic Bishops in 1884 directed every Catholic parish in the United States to open a Catholic school within two years. The Council also decreed that every Catholic family should send their children to a Catholic school. While these mandates were never completely fulfilled, the number of Catholic schools in the nation and the number of children enrolled in them continued to grow significantly over the first half of the 20th century. Catholic schools reached their enrollment peak in the middle of the 1960s when over five million children, which were estimated to be nearly 50% of all Catholic children, were enrolled in one of the nation’s nearly 13,000 Catholic schools [1]. At their peak in the 1960s, students in Catholic schools accounted for nearly 90% of all students who were not enrolled in a public school.

The success of Catholic schools can be largely attributed to the religious sisters, better known as nuns, who staffed the schools. Nuns were successful in leading and staffing these schools because they often were immigrants to the nation themselves, which enabled them to connect with the immigrant populations they were working with. They were also a relatively free workforce, which allowed Catholic schools to offer nearly free tuition to its students. Furthermore, Catholic parents completely trusted the nuns to provide discipline, academic rigor, and Catholic identity formation.

Since their peak in the 1960s, Catholic schools have experienced a steady decline in three areas: 1) the number of children attending Catholic schools; 2) the number of nuns teaching in the schools; and 3) the total number of Catholic schools. While there are numerous reasons for this decline in Catholic schools, including that the public became more tolerant of Catholics, one of the most often cited reasons is the drastic decrease in vocations of religious sisters following the Second Vatican Council (known as Vatican II). Vatican II called for a greater role of lay people in Catholic institutions which caused many of the nuns to leave their orders to become lay people in the church. As nuns left their school leadership and teaching positions, their positions were filled by lay educators which brought on the costs of salaries and health benefits. In order to cover the rising operational costs of lay faculty, tuition rates had to be raised. To this point, national average tuition rates have doubled since the early 1970s. Coupled with significant economic recessions in the nation, the poor immigrant families who Catholic schools were originally focused on helping were priced out of the schools.

The modern Catholic school system looks significantly different from its early history. Today, there are less than two million students enrolled in Catholic schools, which is a 60% decrease since the 1960s. Today, there are less than 7,000 Catholic schools, which is a 50% decrease since the 1960s. Today, less than 3% of all teachers in Catholic schools are nuns, which is a 90% decrease since the 1960s [2]. While the national trends of Catholic schools paint a doom and gloom scenario for their sustainability, there is no denying the rich history of Catholic schools in the United States. There is also no denying the impact of Catholic schools and Catholic education on the lives of Catholic children. Catholic schools have made and continue to make a difference in the lives of millions of children in this country.

Developing a deeper understanding of the rich history of Catholic education in the Diocese of San Diego is greatly needed at this time. It is a crucial era for Catholic school sustainability and success. This book details the impressive history of Catholic schools in the Diocese of San Diego and provides the impetus for why a greater focus on revitalizing local Catholic education is so greatly needed. The purpose of this book is to bring Catholic schools and Catholic education back into the minds and hearts of Catholics throughout this diocese. The goal is to bring back the amazing memories that so many of us share of attending Catholic schools, of being taught by religious sisters, and of being provided a high-quality education filled with the Catholic faith and the values of Jesus Christ. It is our hope that this book touches the heart of every reader in a manner that gets them more involved in revitalizing and supporting Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of San Diego.

History of Schools

History of Schools

Catholic schools in San Diego unofficially began in 1769 with the founding of Mission San Diego de Alcala by Fr. Junipero Serra. While Mission San Diego de Alcala never had an official Catholic school, the education of youth in the local area was of upmost importance to the Spanish missionaries. Native American children were provided educational opportunities in all of the missions, mostly in the areas of Christianity and Spanish. The missions served as the earliest versions of Catholic school education and the foundation for Catholic schools in the San Diego area.

The official history of Catholic schools in the San Diego area began with Fr. Antonio Ubach, a legendary priest in San Diego history. Fr. Ubach is probably best known for bringing the Sisters of Mercy to San Diego to found St. Joseph’s Dispensary (which would later become Mercy Hospital) and the St. Joseph’s Training School for Nurses [3]. Fr. Ubach should also be recognized as the Father of San Diego Catholic Education, for he was instrumental in opening the first Catholic schools in the town of San Diego. He was so intent on opening a Catholic school, that he made repeated trips to Carondelet, Missouri where the motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph was located [4]. He was finally able to procure four sisters of the order who returned to San Diego to open San Diego’s first Catholic school, the Academy of Our Lady of Peace, in 1882. The Academy of Our Lady of Peace first opened in a small house at the corner of 2nd Ave. and G St. in San Diego. The school consisted of twenty-eight girls and two boys, in first through twelfth grades.

With the help of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Fr. Ubach opened a second school in 1886 named St. Anthony’s Indian School [5]. The school, which provided vocational education in areas such as agriculture or blacksmithing to Native American children, was originally located at Twiggs St. and San Diego Ave. in the Old Town area of San Diego. As the school’s population outgrew the Old Town location, Fr. Ubach and the sisters moved the school to the ruins of the original Mission San Diego de Alcala. The school had a peak population of one hundred children, many of whom were boarders, and remained in operation until 1907 when it was closed due to a lack of federal funding.

In 1895, Fr. Ubach and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet opened yet another school – St. Joseph’s Boys School – on the grounds of the first cathedral in the San Diego area, St. Joseph Cathedral (which Fr. Ubach also founded). Fr. Ubach passed away in 1907, but his imprint on Catholic education in the San Diego area would be felt for generations to come. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet carried on his vision for Catholic schools as they would continue to found multiple schools throughout the area. If Fr. Ubach is the Father of Catholic Education in San Diego, then the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet should be recognized as the Mothers of San Diego Catholic Education. They founded twelve different Catholic schools in San Diego and Imperial counties. The order spent 131 years working in Catholic schools in San Diego.

Over the years, nearly 100 Catholic schools have been founded by parishes and orders of religious sisters and brothers in the San Diego and Imperial counties. Currently in the Diocese of San Diego there are forty-four K-8 schools, five high schools, one 6th - 8th school, one K-12 school, thirty-eight preschools, and two universities. Hundreds of thousands of children, nuns, and lay educators have filled these schools with care, learning, and faith formation. The impact of these schools cannot be quantified mathematically, but nevertheless these schools have made a difference in the lives of Catholic children for many generations. A detailed description of the history of the Catholic schools in the Diocese of San Diego is provided below.

1910s

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet continued to open schools in the 1910s. They opened Our Lady of Angels School on the grounds of Our Lady of Angels Parish, which was the second parish built in San Diego’s history. Our Lady of Angels School, which would merge with Our Lady of Guadalupe School in 1973 to become Our Lady’s School, is the oldest Catholic elementary school still in operation. In 1914, Sacred Heart School in Brawley opened. Sacred Heart School was