A couple weeks ago, I posted on a bold proposal by my diocese to turn some Catholic schools into charter schools.

How has that worked in other places?

The New York Times reports:

On his first day of eighth grade at the former Holy Name Roman Catholic school last fall, Jeffrey Stone bowed his head, clasped his hands and began to recite the Lord’s Prayer. Within seconds, his teacher chided him: “We don’t do that anymore.”

Over the summer Holy Name, along with six other financially troubled Catholic schools here, had converted into a charter school, packing up crucifixes, redesigning uniforms and expunging religion from its curriculum. But virtually the entire staff and much of the student body stayed the same through the transition, and they had come to expect lessons in faith and values alongside algebra and literature.

“I was shocked,” recalled Jeffrey, 13, who played on the Catholic youth basketball team and relied on his school’s pastor-in-residence for advice. “I was like, how am I going to survive?”

The seven Catholic-turned-charter schools in Washington are at the cusp of what is becoming a popular exit strategy for urban parochial schools nationwide facing plummeting enrollment and untenable operating costs. In New York, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg unveiled a plan last month to transform four Catholic schools in Brooklyn and Queens into charters, which are publicly financed but independently operated. In San Antonio, a major charter school operator is lobbying the archdiocese to consider charters if it is forced to close schools.

For Catholic schools on the brink of closing, there is much to like about the idea: an infusion of public dollars that translates into increases in teacher salaries and per-student spending, freedom to shape an independent curriculum and the ability to attract families that cannot afford tuition.

But a close look at Washington’s first six months under the new system shows some of the complexities that lie ahead if Mr. Bloomberg’s proposal goes through.

Teachers who for decades were shielded from the bureaucratic particulars of the public education system now find themselves overwhelmed with mandates to track grades electronically, administer frequent tests and analyze data to tailor instruction. And many veterans of the old schools say there is a noticeable emptiness in classrooms and hallways: Students miss the moments they came together for prayer, they say, and teachers wish they could sometimes get a little guidance from the Bible.

Many here are grappling with a question of mission: Is it possible to impart centuries-old values of Catholic education without crossing the line between church and state?

Continue at the link for some answers.