Another Article On the Closing of Catholic Schools- Why Not Look to Kansas?

The Deacon Bench has an article that we sadly see often. See Catholic schools shrinking, struggling . This time the place is St Louis and the usual reasons are given.

One of the things I have noted is that Catholics in the USA have an amazing ability to be ignorant about what is succeeding in other Dioceses. That goes from Mass attendance, to programs to bring in converts, to vocations to the Priesthood and religious.. It goes as well as to Catholic schools. I mean what do these Bishops do at their meetings? Don't they network?

The fantastic success of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Wichita has been noted in the Catholic press on a few occasions.

See Go Wichita! and Tuition-free Catholic schools via Ten Reasons. Also see this 2009 article from OSV.

In the OSV article we learn:
The most effective model of stewardship is the Wichita, Kas., diocesan school system, where no family pays tuition from kindergarten through high school, says the NCEA's Curtin.
"Wichita might be home to one of the strongest Catholic school systems in the nation, with impressive test scores, rising enrollments, supportive parishes, an authentic Catholic identity and a unique funding model," concluded the nonsectarian Thomas B. Fordham Foundation in its 2008 policy study, "Who Will Save America's Urban Catholic Schools?"
The Dayton, Ohio-based think tank says that the Wichita schools "may offer a model for how other communities could make their Catholic school system work for Catholic and non-Catholic students alike."
There are no entrance exams for the schools. Of the almost 11,000 students in Wichita Catholic schools, more than 1,300 are Spanish-speaking and over 2,300 are minority. Almost a quarter come from low-income families......................

The concept encompasses the entire Church community and all its ministries, said Father Lanzrath. While each school family is asked to sign a pledge to tithe 8 percent of their income to their parish and to attend Mass weekly, each parishioner is also asked to tithe 8 percent to the parish. Each parish gives 10 percent of its income to the diocese, and the diocese subsidizes poorer schools.
Other dioceses are experimenting with no tuition at some schools, including one in Brooklyn, N.Y., as well as some schools in Chicago, Indiana and in other parts of Kansas. No other diocese yet has tried the concept diocesanwide...........

What ? Repeat No other Diocese has in the entire United States has tried to implement this nationwide. This policy has been in full effect For ten years and proven a great success with the amount of catholic schools growing. Free tuition, great education, the concept of stewardship, more Mass attendance, and having Catholic schools available to those of limited needs. Further I have read that 10 percent of the students that attend these schools are special needs!!

What the heck is not to like? I know there as to everything there is not a one size fit all solution to every problem but I have a hard time seeing why this model would not work in most places.

Yet unless you happen to happened just to read the occasional article on this most Catholics are clueless this is happening there.

Update- Can any Louisiana Catholic give me a reason why this would not be a success State wide?