Butler Catholic School teacher Shauna Hohn serves up lunch to student John Fouse during the school's 50th anniversary celebration Saturday. Alumni, former employees, current staff and students came together Saturday for a full day of activities at the school.

Butler Catholic School — the oldest active consolidated school in the Diocese of Pittsburgh — celebrated its 50th anniversary last weekend.

In 1969, the pastors of St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Michael churches collaborated with their parishes to form one strong Catholic school: Butler Catholic School.

In the United States, Catholic schools have, for decades, been synonymous with academic excellence.

But Catholic schools have been disappearing from our nation’s landscape.

In 1965, 89 percent of American children enrolled in a private elementary schools were attending Catholic schools. Six years ago, the percentage had fallen to 42 percent, During the same period, the percentage of private elementary school students who were enrolled in a non-Catholic religious school rose from 8 percent to 40 percent.

In the mid-1960s, there were more than 13,000 Catholic schools in the United States, educating about 13 percent of the school-aged population, said Carol Ann MacGregor, an associate professor of sociology at Loyola University New Orleans.

By 2012, that number had nearly halved. There were only 7,000 Catholic schools, representing just 5 percent of the school-aged population.

The cost of running Catholic schools has increased significantly over time. Decades ago, they were staffed primarily by nuns or priests for little or no pay. In those days, schools didn’t have to pay for expensive technology such as smart whiteboards or iPads.

Much of the burden for increased costs fell on parents. For Catholic elementary schools, where tuition climbed 69 percent in just a decade, the price tag sits at about $4,000 per school year. Catholic high school tuition increased 136 percent in the same time period, with an average cost of $9,000 per school year.

And despite those tuition hikes, Catholic schools often don’t break even.

But the future looks bright for Butler Catholic School.

Continuous updates to the school are a complement to the strong focus on academics and a commitment to Catholic education.

The updates are positioning the institution to be “a leader in private school education for the next 50 years,” Kathy Dudley, the school’s director of development, said.

She said technology is paramount in the classroom. For four years now, students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades have had their own Chromebooks.

Today, the school has about 275 pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students, and there is room for growth, said Sister John Ann Mulhern, principal.

“The single best aspect of Butler Catholic School is its family atmosphere. The entire school generates a feeling of care and importance for one another,” Bruno Zuccala, a co-chairman of the school’s 50th anniversary celebration, said.

With a focus on Catholic values, leadership and education, Butler Catholic School stands out as a place to obtain a quality, well-rounded education.

Here’s to another 50 years and more.