Latinos account for 36 percent of practicing Catholics in the United States, yet represent only 4 percent of students enrolled in Catholic schools. That disparity has become a call to action for Catholic educators, including those at St. Michael-St. Clement School in Baltimore County.
This year, the school joined the 13th cohort of the Latino Enrollment Institute (LEI) at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, a national program that equips Catholic schools with culturally responsive tools to welcome Latino families. St. Michael-St. Clement is the only Maryland school among 63 participants from 24 dioceses.
“One of the statistics that really was an aha, was that if we just enrolled 5 to 10 percent of Latino students in our Catholic schools, we would never have to close a Catholic school again,” said Matthew Zipp, principal of St. Michael-St. Clement School.
Currently, Latino enrollment at St. Michael-St. Clement stands at around 5 percent. Zipp hopes to double that through outreach developed with Father Héctor Mateus-Ariza, pastor of St. Michael, and the school’s advancement director.
“We’re now trying to formulate a plan to really get our Hispanic kids over here, and sometimes it’s just a notion of, sometimes they don’t even know that a Catholic education is available to them,” Zipp said. “I want to make sure that we offer a top-level education to those Hispanic families […] I want to make sure that we tap into those Latino children and let them know that they can have that Catholic education.”
Efforts include attending Spanish-language Masses, hosting Latino-focused open houses tied to those Masses, and empowering two Hispanic school parents – or madrinas – to assist with outreach. A $2,500 Bridges grant helped translate school materials into Spanish. With limited staff, the school relies on the parish’s Spanish-speaking secretary for communication. Leaders are exploring donor support for scholarships.
“St. Michael-St. Clement School, just as many other Catholic schools in the archdiocese is 50 percent Catholic and 50 percent non-Catholic,” Zipp said. “In a way, we kind of lose that Catholic identity, and I know bringing Latinos in will help restore that Catholic identity because they are such devout Catholics, and we need that.”
Zipp believes welcoming more Latino families will help restore the school’s spiritual focus.
“I want them to be able to have the opportunity to succeed in this country. That’s what it was founded on: success. I want everybody to be successful. So I want everybody to have the opportunity to have that Catholic education and succeed, and why not do it here at St. Michael-St. Clement?” he said.
Through monthly check-ins and mentorship from the LEI program, Zipp said he now has guidance to help his school thrive.
“I think using these check-ins throughout the year and using the knowledge of my mentor who’s gone through this program and how they’ve been successful in New York and other places, just to make sure that we as a school thrive,” he said.
“It was an honor to represent the archdiocese, and I learned a lot,” he added.
By the numbers
The 2020 Census showed that Hispanics or Latinos make up 11.8 percent of Maryland’s population, with a total of 729,745 residents, marking a significant milestone as the state surpassed the 10 percent threshold for the first time.
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