The Catholic School Playbook

More than a hundred Catholic schools have closed annually for the last six decades across the United States. Enrollment is now around a quarter of what it was at its peak in 1965. Based on the data, one may conclude that the end of Catholic schools is near.

Yet hundreds of Catholic schools are thriving with increasing enrollment, delighted parents, and students who are well formed and full of wonder. Many have waitlists of students eager to attend. What is their secret? What sets great Catholic schools apart from mediocre ones?

The Catholic School Playbook by Michael Ortner and Kimberly Begg documents how these successful schools are bucking the trend by focusing on their rich Catholic heritage and cultivating strong communities of students, families, and educators. In seven concise and easy-to-read chapters exploring how these schools approach their mission, hiring, teachers, finances, and more, this book offers a practical gameplan for renewing Catholic education in America.

Michael Ortner is the founder of Capterra, the leading online marketplace for business software, as well as Run with Saints, a platform for connecting Catholics who live near each other. He has a business degree from Georgetown University and a philosophy degree from the University of London. Mike lives in McLean, Virginia, with his wife, Liz, and their six children.

Kimberly Begg is the president of the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women and author of Unbreakable: Saints Who Inspired Saints to Moral Courage (TAN Books). An attorney with more than twenty-five years of experience strengthening Catholic and conservative causes, she is a member of the District of Columbia Bar with degrees from George Mason University School of Law (now the Antonin Scalia Law School) and Rutgers University. She lives in Herndon, Virginia, with her husband, Ian, and their five children.