Fact Sheet 2009-2010

BACKGROUND: The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is comprised of 28 counties that cover 15,139 square miles in central Illinois. There are 42 elementary schools and 6 high schools. Elementary enrollment is 9,175; high school enrollment is 2,110.

LOCATIONS: 33% of the schools are in urban settings; 6.3% are inner city; 18.8% are in suburban settings; 41.7% are rural schools.

FAITH: 8.3% of the students are from other faith backgrounds.

DIVERSITY: The percent of minorities enrolled in our schools is 8%.

GIFT TO THE NATION: Based on the median public school per pupil cost of $9,335 for grade school students and $11,471 for high school students, the Catholic schools in our diocese provide more than $85,648,625 (grade school) and $24,203,810 (high school) a year in savings to the state of Illinois for a total of $109,852,435.

TEACHING STAFF: Lay men and women represent 96.8% of the teaching staff in the elementary schools. Of that amount 2.6% are women religious. In the high schools, 80.4% of teaching staff are lay men and women of whom 11.6% are religious women and 1.1% are priests.

PRESCHOOL/KINDERGARTEN: 83% of our schools offer a preschool program; 97% have a kindergarten.

STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO: 13:1 in the elementary schools and 11:1 in the high schools.

TEST SCORES: Evidence for the superior performance of students from the Catholic Elementary schools comes from the TerraNova Test, which is administered in the fall to grades 3, 5, and 7. The 2009 fall testing results of the elementary schools in our diocese show that for the Total Score, 28.6% of the students in grade three scored in the top quartile. Nationally, 25% of students taking the Terra Nova test rank in the top quartile (76th-99th percentile); in grade five 31.3% of the students scored in the top quartile; in grade seven, 45.1% of the students scored in the top quartile. The Catholic high schools also offer a strong academic curriculum. Ninety-seven percent of the high school graduates go on to college. The average score for high school students on the ACT is 23.2 with more than 94.8% of eligible students testing.

EXTENDED DAY: 88% of our elementary schools offer an extended care program.

WAITING LIST: 16.7% of our schools have a waiting list for admission.

CERTIFICATION: The State of Illinois recognizes all schools in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. The high schools in the diocese also have certification through AdvancED.