In the early 1960s, parochial education was at its peak in the U.S. with more than 5 million students enrolled in nearly 13,000 Catholic schools nationwide. Since then, enrollment has fallen steadily as church attendance has dropped and more families bypass Catholic schools in favor of public schools. Last year, only about 1.8 million students enrolled in less than 6,300 schools, according to the National Catholic Educational Association’s annual report.

That means more Catholic schools -- including some in New Jersey -- are shutting down or combining with nearby schools as enrollment continues to fall. At least eight Catholic schools in New Jersey are facing major changes this year as they prepare to close, merge or rebrand themselves at the end of the current school year.