Urban Catholic Schools in Expanding Charter School Markets: Enrollment Shifts and School Closures by Richard Joseph Waddington A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Education) in the University of Michigan 2012 Doctoral Committee: Professor Brian P. McCall, Chair Professor Stephen L. DesJardins Professor Susan M. Dynarski Emeritus Professor Valerie E. Lee © Copyright Richard Joseph Waddington 2012 All Rights Reserved DEDICATION To my mother, Christine for her love, encouragement, sacrifice, and especially for instilling the importance and value of higher education -ii - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have contributed to the completion of my doctorate degree and dissertation. I am pleased to be able to extend my sincere appreciation to some of them and apologize up front for anyone whom I may have unintentionally omitted. I would like to thank Dr. Brian McCall, my graduate advisor and committee chairman, whose invaluable guidance and support over the past four years allowed me to move forward. I am deeply grateful for your continuous encouragement, patient approach, and your deep intellect you have shared with me over the course of my academic career. Through countless one-on-one meetings, e-mails, and written feedback, you have provided substantial advice and help on my dissertation, from its origination to completion. You have aided me in pushing my limits during this research endeavor. When I switched into the Quantitative Research Methods program after my first academic year you were immediately willing to work with me to ensure that I attained success in graduate school from day one. My knowledge of quantitative research methods and economics was greatly expanded under your guidance and it has set me up well to perform rigorous quantitative inquiries throughout my career. Outside of my own research, I am thankful for the three semesters we spent teaching together. I have found a deep passion in teaching and I know that it originated from your guidance and the opportunity you gave to me to serve as your graduate student instructor. On top of being a mentor in my graduate school career, I also consider you my friend who has been willing to listen to my concerns and be supportive through the ups and downs of life. I have also enjoyed all the times we have spent laughing about various topics in your office. For all of this, I am truly honored and thankful. I am grateful to Dr. Stephen DesJardins for your continuing support and advice throughout my graduate career. Although I was not a student in the Higher Education program you have always treated me like one of the program’s own. You have been patient, straightforward, and extremely helpful in the numerous talks we have had about methods, theories, and writing. One of the recent things for which I am most thankful is your tough and fair evaluation of my writing. I know that I can set myself up for future success by having a clearer understanding of my own limitations. I appreciate the time and feedback you gave to me while I was searching for jobs and am grateful for you always looking out for my best interests. In addition to being a mentor, you are also a good friend with whom I have shared many laughs and stories with over the past couple of years. I think that you are a great role model for balancing work, family, and your own time, and you have given me the confidence that I could do the same in a faculty career. I want to thank Dr. Valerie Lee for providing me with several years of advice, feedback, and support throughout my graduate school career. From HLM class through my dissertation you have taught me to be precise with every study I design, every analysis I conduct, and every word I write. Without the opportunity to work closely with you for the -iii - past three years on our project with PISA, I know that I would not have been prepared to carry out the work necessary to complete an entire dissertation. Thank you for your wisdom and the care you have given me. I am thankful to Dr. Susan Dynarski for all your support in helping me to become a better researcher. I reflect on the first causal inference class I took with you and recognize the enormous growth I have experienced in the past three and a half years. Your no frills approach helped me to reorient my work habits at a time when I needed some of the most guidance. At the same time you have also been kind, willing to talk, and have provided me with invaluable feedback on my work. As a dedicated researcher who demands nothing short of excellence from the work of your students and your own work, you are a great inspiration. I am also grateful to my other research mentors at the University of Michigan. I need to especially thank Dr. Nancy Songer, who gave me the opportunity to pursue my Ph.D. and provided my first educational research experiences. I also need to thank Dr. Joseph Krajcik, Dr. Namsoo Shin, Dr. Edward Silver, and Dr. Patricia Kenney who also provided me with research opportunities and support throughout my graduate school career. I would also like to extend my appreciation to all the mentors I have had to help support my teaching, including: Dr. Peter Bahr, Mr. Timothy McDaniel, Dr. Pedro Alvarez, and Ms. Lok-Sze Wong. The support and mentoring from each of you has aided in my appreciation for teaching and continually developing skills. I would like to extend my special appreciation to Dr. Stephanie Teasley. You have provided me with exceptional research opportunities in the USE Lab outside of my regular area of study. Throughout the past two and a half years you have been an exceptional and kind-hearted research advisor. I appreciate all of your patience and support, especially during the past few months while I have been finishing my dissertation. In addition to Dr. Teasley, I want to thank all of the other members of the USE Lab, especially Dr. Steve Lonn, for helping to create such a rich research environment. There are so many individuals that I have interacted with throughout my schooling career that to which I could not possibly give enough thanks. From elementary and secondary schoolteachers, staff, coaches, college and graduate school professors, all the way through the extraordinary staff members at the University of Michigan School of Education. Each and every one of you has helped me at one point along the way and your hard work and dedication have not gone unnoticed. I would like to give a special thank you to Mr. Lyonel Milton for his support and kindness during my time with the Graduate Student Leadership Organization and as a student in the School of Education. Words cannot even begin to express the genuine thankfulness I have for all of my friends. For those friends that I grew up with in Western New York, thank you for your continued support. I want to thank Dr. James Jones for his friendship throughout the years and congratulate him on enacting some playful revenge by earning the title of “Dr.” shortly before me. Thank you to all of my college friends and your companions from the University of Notre Dame, including: Nate Hudac, Julia Vogelheim Hudac, Ethan Piraino, Dan Nickele, Jana Nickele, Kyle Winking, Elizabeth Dolan Winking, Jake McDonald, and Zitsi Mirakhur. I am so grateful for the love and kindness you have given to me as well as the fun times we have shared since we first met. I want to thank Steve McClain for his friendship and support -iv - stemming from the years we worked together. I also want to thank Fr. Dan Parrish, C.S.C. for spiritual guidance and friendship over the years. I know that I will leave Ann Arbor a better person because of all of the people I have gotten to know while at the University of Michigan. I would like to first give a special thank you to Dr. Ashima Mathur Shah with whom I worked upon arriving at Michigan. As a colleague you have been an inspiration and as a friend you have been extremely loyal. Next, I want to thank all the members of the “Mews Crew”, including: Kara Makara, Keith Fuller, Jane Rochmes, Joshua Montes, Geoff Wodtke, and Liz Wodtke. We have had so many laughs and adventures over the past three years and I am forever indebted to each of you for your friendship and support. I would like to thank all members of the Social Forces softball team that I have been honored to play with and manage for three years. I would like to thank some very special colleagues and friends throughout the School of Education, the University of Michigan, and Ann Arbor in no particular order, including: Michaela O’Neill, Kelly McMahon, Emily House, Mark Wiederspan, Adam Hengen, Rebecca Christensen, Michelle Nguyen, Ryan McKenzie, Darian Leib, Noah Neidlinger, Michael Wu, and Erin Wickerham. You have all been so loving and so caring throughout the past several years and we have had many excellent adventures together. I am especially grateful to the original members of “The Band”, plus one: Dr. Andrew Krumm, Jason Moore, Tim Whittemore, and Andrew Kwok. The four of you have been great friends with whom I have shared so many laughs, stories, and intellectual conversations. Our friendship will extend far beyond the reaches of booth 30 at Good Time Charley’s--which also means a thank you is in order for Jessica Quigley, our wonderful server and friend.