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7.22.2011Soda Pop and Schools
What Catholic Schools Can Learn from PepsiCo
Catholic schools can learn a lot from the soft drink industry and its consumers. Stick with me as I try to explain why…
Recently, Coke scored what appeared to be a major victory against its rival Pepsi when Diet Coke passed Pepsi as the #2 selling soft drink in America, giving Coke the top two slots in soft drink sales for the first time. Certainly it was a symbolic victory for Coke and many hearing the news may have assumed that the folks at Pepsi were quite disheartened with the news.
However, digging deeper into the facts of the situation reveals that the story of Diet Coke passing Pepsi was truly not a story of Coke versus Pepsi. Instead, it is a story of diet versus sugar. Dating back to the day the first diet soda sold, the sugar drinks have been losing ground to the sugar free drinks. PepsiCo and Coke have both realized for years that many of their customers have become conscious about the number of calories in the drinks they consume, so consequently they have been creating products for those customers that contain fewer calories.
PepsiCo and Coke realize that customers that don't want sugar in their drinks will not be convinced otherwise, so they can either make products that fit those customers wants and needs or lose them as customers altogether. PepsiCo is doing just fine. Tried one of those new low calorie Gatorade drinks? That's a PepsiCo product. How about Diet Mountain Dew, one of the hottest selling soft drinks? Yep, that's PepsiCo., too. How about heart healthy Quaker Oats? Yep, them too…It's true that Pepsi has been losing ground to Diet Coke on the soft drink list for decades, but it's also true that PepsiCo stock is selling for almost $70 a share versus the $1.50 it was selling in 1980 as diet products were just hitting their stride.
What does any of this have to do with Catholic schools? It comes down to mission and consumer demand. Pepsi’s mission is far broader than one particular product. Therefore, realizing that their customers wanted products that were lower in calories, Pepsi would fail in their mission if they didn’t provide such products, as they have. Consumer demand plays a role therefore in an organization’s mission success.
What is the mission of Catholic schools? Is it limited to one type of Catholic school, one type of governance, or one educational model? I instead, agree with the US Bishops and the Vatican that have consistently avoided mentioning any specific type of governance model or educational model when declaring the importance of and purpose of Catholic education. According to the Vatican, Catholic schools are intertwined with the “salvific mission of the Church”. Elaborating, the US Bishops state that we use our schools as the “fullest and best opportunity to realize the fourfold purpose of Christian education, namely to provide an atmosphere in which the Gospel message is proclaimed, community in Christ is experience, service to our sisters and brothers is the norm, and thanksgiving and worship of our God is cultivated.” (See Renewing Our Commitment…).
Catholic education’s mission, like that of PepsiCo, is larger than just one product. It is not about the model of school but the educational and community goals of the school itself, which is why new models of Catholic schools such as the Cristo Rey and Nativity Models or the Dual Language Immersion programs starting in LA should be celebrated as new “products” we can use to be successful in our mission to create places for our Children to encounter Christ and be given an excellent education in the process.
Decades ago it was just Pepsi and Coke on the shelves. Similarly, decades ago, in the market of education, most families in the US had just two choices: traditional public schools or traditional Catholic schools. Since that time, many new choices have popped up. Alternative models of public schools have been on the rise for decades, mostly through charter laws. Also, many new private schools have opened over the years, under many models. Prospective parents are speaking with their feet as well as with their wallets. They either cannot afford the traditional Catholic school with its newer higher tuition, or they aren’t interested because they have some particular programmatic desire we are not meeting the need of.
As always, a thoughtful post. Dioceses will continue to lose Catholics in their schools unless they offer a variety of options for families. Diversity of missions within the broader Mission of all Catholic schools makes sense.
I would argue the same can be true within Catholic schools themselves. To phrase it as provocatively as possible, I think it's OK for Catholic schools to be "private" schools in feel and outreach as long as they don't compromise the fundamental Mission. We can teach the truth of the gospel, provide ample opportunity for prayer, worship and service to others, build communities of faith, even while we market ourselves as first tier "private" schools in addition.
I don't think they're mutually exclusive--in fact, I think the ecumenical nature of our faith allows for such a broad appeal. Why, for example, are so few of our schools members of the National Association of Independent Schools? This association does great work and has excellent resources that can improve our academic programs and help our marketing efforts. But we too often regard NAIS schools as the "enemy", with missions which are incompatible with ours. Many may be, but it doesn't necessarily have to be either-or.
Our diocesan Catholic high school is 60% Catholic and 40% non-Catholic. Most of our non-Catholics (and alas, many of our Catholics) send their children to our school, simply because they perceive it to be the best "private" school in the county. Yet we're fundamentally Catholic, with Mass each week, a service requirement of 40 hours/year, and a theology program founded on the catechism. It's a chance for evangelization! The Church, after all, isn't just for the people who are in it.
The non-Catholics in our school tend to be wealthier than the average Catholic family and support our annual fund at higher giving levels, making it possible for more Catholic families to receive tuition assistance, even while their own sons and daughters are being evangelized. We'd be wise as leaders in Catholic schools to find ways to reach out to them more effectively; their presence and contributions to our schools help us keep the Mission of Catholic schools alive and healthy.
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