Recruiting, marketing success for Catholic school system

The Archdiocese of Chicago made it to the new school year without having to close any of its 255 schools.

That doesn't mean the Catholic school system has returned to the powerhouse it was 50 years ago, but the head of the parochial schools here says it appears that aggressive marketing and recruiting are starting to pay off.

"For a long time, Catholic schools didn't necessarily toot their own horn," said Sister Mary Paul McCaughey, schools superintendent for the archdiocese. The notion that Catholic parents would send their kids to Catholic schools "was just expected. There …