Schools rooted in a biblical worldview are seeing increased enrollment in Virgina, while public schools are faltering.
According to a recent report, Catholic schools in northern Virginia have seen a 10% increase in enrollment since 2019. The Catholic diocese of Arlington covers the entirety of northern Virginia, including Loudoun County, which has been at the heart of the controversy over gender ideology in schools.
The diocese is home to 50 schools, ranging from pre-K through high school. Collectively these schools have more than 18 thousand students this year.
School officials say the growth is” due to their philosophy that parents are the first and primary educators of their children and that schoolteachers and administrators are there to support them in that journey.”
Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for Education Studies at Family Research Council, further pointed to school closures as a key issue for parents. “Catholic schools were among the first to reopen for in person learning,” she told The Washington Stand. “Parents remember this well — Catholic or not. One of the reasons for the election of Governor Glenn Youngkin was disappointment over school closures in progressive counties that were too long and COVID protocols that were onerous and unsupported by research or even ‘the science.’”
She added that the debate over gender identity in Loudoun County pushed more parents away.