Let’s “Talk ”
A series by Julia Fanara, Head of School
Last year, I wrote an article responding to the question,
“Are we still Catholic?”
This year, I am responding to the question about enrollment. When Alverno Heights Academy opened in 1960, it was the height of Catholic school enrollment around the nation. Catholic schools were opening all around Los Angeles throughout the 50s and 60s. Alverno is one of the youngest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles (ADLA). Don Bosco Tech - 1955 (all boys’) Flintridge-Sacred Heart - 1931 (all girls’) Holy Family High School - 1937 (all girls’) Immaculate Heart High School - 1907 (all girls’) La Salle - 1956 (co-ed) Mayfield - 1931 (all girls’) Ramona Convent - 1889 (all girls’) St. Francis High School - 1955 (all boys’) In 1960, Alverno was quite a draw! Many girls wanted to come to a brand new school with all of the modern conveniences of the time, rather than the old, stuffy schools that were around the area. La Salle, which was all boys’ back then, was right down the street, making it convenient for shared use of the facilities (theirs, not ours). We had a brother school. 3
Enrollment in the 1960s was numbering in the 100+/ per class range. However, as you know, the 1960s was a decade of change and transition — and the church was no different. Catholics experienced the changes that came with Vatican II. Some of the changes included sisters no longer wearing habits and moving out of the convents, and the altar being turned around so that the priest faced the congregation, speaking to us in our native tongue rather than Latin. In the 70s we began singing with guitars and clapping our hands, rather than listening to a choir sing from above with organ music, and the communion rail became obsolete. The changes in the Church also brought a new way to view religion and parents were less inclined to send their children to Catholic schools. More and more students began leaving and enrollment began to falter. What was once a 50 student, double classroom expectation was now becoming a single classroom with 35 to 40 students in the elementary schools. Those lower numbers began affecting the numbers in the classrooms at the high school level in the late 70s and 80s. In 1977 the Sisters of St. Francis sold Alverno High School to the Immaculate Heart Community. They could see that the enrollment was dropping, not only at Alverno, but also within their own ranks. Women were not pursuing the sisterhood like they did in the 40s and 50s. Women had more options. With the sale of the school, the new charism, and the change in thought around Catholic school education, Alverno did struggle ALVERNO HEIGHTS ACADEMY ALUMNAE MAGAZINE
