Wayne County public schools have experienced rapid changes to the education landscape and enrollment. As Seton Catholic High School celebrates 25 years of private schooling, it’s found similar issues at its doorstep.
The school’s current enrollment sits at 72, a drastic drop from 2025’s 125. Principal Sharon Brochin and Seton Commission Chair Amy Meyers acknowledge a downward trend the last few years, but said this year was a fairly large drop due to a number of factors.
“I think there’s just more choices for families and for students,” said Meyers. The former teacher noted the Choice Scholarship, and homeschool or online opportunities as alternatives to both public and private school.
Brochin, a SCHS teacher for 24 years, cited lack of athletics and career or technical classes driving departures, the latter being in demand given Indiana’s new diploma requirements.
Last year, Indiana implemented three new high school diplomas effective for the Class of 2029 facilitating more work-based learning. Each track preps students for either college, employment, or enlistment or first responder service.
Although she said the new diploma has opened opportunities and created new challenges, Brochin views the transition as a work in progress as schools statewide grapple with pairing students with businesses for internships. She commends the Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce for working with area schools to meet some of those challenges, seeing the county as a model for others.
Lower enrollment has impacted finances for the tuition-based school, forcing administrators and staff to make adjustments.
One of those adjustments is a new schedule for the 2027-28 school year. Titled “Maximum FACE (Faith. Academics. Charity. Excellence) Time,” the mission-driven program follows the same school structure with one early release day, but shifts all academic time to Tuesday through Friday. “Maximum Mondays” are reserved for students to engage in activities outside of the regular classroom.
“We kind of took a look and analyzed all of those things that are wonderful experiences for students,” said Brochin. Those include opportunities for internships, college and career courses, clubs and activities, and social and emotional learning.
“All these are really amazing opportunities for them. But then they miss class time. So we’re taking all of those things and, as much as possible, moving them all to Mondays,” said Brochin. With no class interruption, students can now experience that internship or career-focused class for three to four hours instead of one. And, doing the math, Brochin says they gain 600-700 minutes of instructional time.
The school expects the change to allow teachers to form stronger student relationships, gain more professional development time and reduce burnout. And both groups reclaim their weekends, eliminating what Meyers called the “Sunday scaries.”
After a few information sessions to address parent questions, Brochin said feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and students are excited about the opportunities next year.
“Here at Seton, it’s not just about math and science. It’s about the whole student and how they can be a productive member in society, living their faith,” Meyers said.
“We are planning for the high school to be here for the long term,” said Brochin. With these new activities and other partnerships in the works, Brochin hopes enrollment climbs back to the 120 range, if not beyond.
The school will have an open house for prospective families Nov. 4 from 5-7 p.m. at 233 S. Fifth St., Richmond. For more information, visit setonschools.org.
A version of this article will appear in the October 28 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
