Non-Catholics' Info

St. Michael Catholic School welcomes students of any denomination. We respect all beliefs and open our doors and hearts to any one interested in our school. According to the NCEA – National Catholic Education Association, Non-Catholic enrollment has remained a steady 11-13% over the years.

Why would Non-Catholics choose a Catholic-Based education? Let’s consider these NCEA statistics:99.2% of Catholic high school students gratuate compared to 86.5% (74% when GED’s are not included) at public schools. 97% of all Catholic school graduates continue their education with four year colleges (80%) being the most prevalent form of post-secondary education.

According to research published in “Catholic Schools in a Declining Church” parents generally choose a Catholic school for one or more of the following reasons: academic quality, religious values, saftey, structure and discipline. In a recent pole conducted, by Saint Michael Catholic School, we found these reasons to mirrored these national results.

In Catholic doctrines, there is a canon (law) that states emphatically that Catholic schools must “in its academic standards’ be equal to or better than area schools. In essence Canon 806.2 will ensure that your child is getting a quality education in your geographical location. St. Michael Catholic School uses the IOWA Standardized Tests in order to compare itself to nation’s schools. In 2006, our students in every grade level scored better than most of their peers nationwide — they topped between 58-83% of other students. The average school score was 72 percent while the national norm is 50 percent. (See our press release under Gator News for additonal information.) Public schools in this area use the Palmetto Achievement Tests (PACT) to gauge school performance. The PACT test compares their school to other schools throughtout the Carolinas.

Another concern we have heard is how often students attend Mass and will they find it confusing? According to the mom of our Non-Catholic families, she said, “This was a concern of mine until I attended the childrens’ Mass on Friday. It was such a beautiful service and the children were precious. It was a Christian-based message that was easy for the children to understand and matched the values and spiritual messages we have been instilling in our child through our own worship. I would recommend that Non-Catholic parents who are concerned about the teaching of Catholic doctrines attend one of the Masses in order to make a more informed decision and test their comfort levels.” The childrens’ Mass is held every Friday morning and is open to the public. (For additional information, consult the Mass schedule.)

If you would like to speak to some of our Non-Cathlolic parents, please contact Miriam Jones by calling the school office at 843-651-6795 or email us by going to “contact us”.

Thank you for your interest in our school.