An interesting reply. To quote you; " ... a major factor (but by no means the only) in the decrease of vowed religious men and women and priests as well is due to our withdrawal from high school education."

That sentence seems just about the reverse of what I thought. 

So -- did fewer vowed religious contribute to increased Catholic school closings (my thought), or did increased Catholic school closings lead to fewer vowed religious (seemingly your thought)?

I do agree that starting formation in the teenage years has never been a good idea. In the archdiocese of my youth it started at age 14! Recruiting occurred in elementary schools for the four year high school minor seminary that was 100% staffed by vowed archdiocesan personnel -- a live-in, go home once-in-a-while, controlled social environment plan I thought weird at the time and consider very wrong now.