The Madrinas Model

A Program Guide to Enroll and Engage Latino Families in Your Catholic School

The Madrinas Model is designed to increase Latino enrollment by creating and strengthening the connection between Latino families and the school, while fostering a culture of support for children’s academic education and spiritual formation. The model employs a grassroots marketing approach in which madrinas connect Latino families to a strong neighborhood Catholic school. By spreading the good news of Catholic education and its impact on the educational and personal successes of Latino children in America, madrinas become ambassadors who can create a positive ripple effect for the school within the Latino community.

A Catholic School Principal's Guide

30 Proven Strategies to Serve the Latino Community and Increase Enrollment in Catholic Schools

Latinos represent the largest and youngest ethnic minority population in the U.S., yet only 4% of Latino Catholic children are enrolled in Catholic schools. The present opportunity to more effectively empower Latino families through Catholic education represents an exciting new chapter in the narrative of American Catholic schools, and there is arguably no factor more critical to the development and implementation of an effective Latino outreach plan than the school leader. We hope that this user-friendly guide, which is a compilation of tangible ideas and concrete strategies compiled from Catholic school principals who have been successful in this endeavor, provides some helpful suggestions as you work to more fully engage Latino families in your Catholic schools.

Renewing Our Greatest and Best Inheritance

In 2013, the USCCB's Committee on Catholic Education requested ACE's support to engage bishops on the singular role that K-12 Catholic schools play in forming children in the faith, serving the common good, and bringing the joy of the Gospel to communities in need. Renewing Our Greatest and Best Inheritance is one of the publications that resulted from this partnership and offers an overview of the manifold benefits that Catholic schools provide marginalized children and families, as well as a brief explanation of the Church's position on and participation in parental choice programs. 

To Nurture the Soul of a Nation

Latino Families, Catholic Schools, and Educational Opportunity

The Notre Dame Task Force Report, To Nurture the Soul of a Nation, published on December 12, 2009, outlines a road map for making a high-quality Catholic education accessible to as many Latino families as possible, while simultaneously revitalizing American Catholic schools. The strategy proposed by the task force relies on a combination of developing demand, building capacity, and transforming institutions to fill empty seats, increase capacity in existing schools, reopen closed schools, and build new Catholic schools in areas that have seen the greatest growth in the Latino population.