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Catholic school making strides November 10, 2008 - Montrose CO Brentwood, LI, NY - October 30, 2008 Catholic Schools in crisis; Enrollment plummets New York Post - November 17 Doane Stuart breaks with nuns' order Contributed by a reader ALBANY - Saying they hope to more
fully embrace an interfaith mission, leaders of the Doane Stuart
School asid they are ending their three-decade affiliation with
the Catholic Society of the Sacred Heart, an order of nuns. Hopes for Catholic high school rise with new bishop April 16, 2008
April 3 2008 April 3 2008 Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville, Illinois mulls $4 million renovation April 3 2008 March 28, 2008 Catholic grass roots group building momentum for area high school Group looks to add more interest with additional meetings in April March 8, 2008
March 22, 2008 Historic Catholic School May Close Virginia March 23, 2008 Proposed Catholic high school will be named for late pope California, March 6, 2008 Kentucky, March 14, 2008 Scranton Catholic high school closed due to sickout AP - March 14, 2008 Seton Catholic High School dedicates chapel Pheonix, March 12, 2008 For Muslim teen, Catholic school just made sense Beaver County Times, PA, March 8 2008 Pope's Catholic school address starts buzz UPI March 14, 2008 |
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Demolition begins on former St. Joes' school - Iowa - March 2008 Archdiocese paving way for new Catholic school in UP - Philadelphia - March 2008 Nun named schools superintendent for Archdiocese of Chicago February 16 2008 Sister Mary Paul McCaughey, president of Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, has been named superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago, Cardinal Francis George announced Friday. McCaughey will take over the country's second-largest Catholic school system July 1, at a time when tuition is increasing and enrollment is falling at parochial schools nationwide. Since its peak in 1965, enrollment in archdiocese schools has fallen from 366,000 students to 98,225. Last year was the first in 45 years that no Catholic elementary schools closed. McCaughey will take over implementation of a strategic plan, called Genesis, that aims to strengthen financial viability, Catholic identity and academic performance. "Our first job is to be what we say we are," said McCaughey, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield. "People will pay for that." She added that she also would pursue innovative ways to boost enrollment in areas where many parents cannot afford tuition. "The schools belong to the entire Catholic community, and I believe they are their jewel," she said. McCaughey said she did not seek the position, but "the more I look at it the more excited I truly am." McCaughey is the second nun to be named superintendent. She replaces Nicholas Wolsonovich, who announced his resignation in December and later was tapped to lead schools in the Diocese of Orlando. George said McCaughey's vocation factored into her selection. "It was part of the picture of course," he said, "a very wonderful part. Something other young women will look at and say, 'I could do that too.'" McCaughey added: "It does make me free and allows me to give a ton of time for these kids." Dominican nun named new
head of Catholic schools February 16, 2008 A Dominican nun who boosted enrollment and raised $5.6 million in 1½ years as president of Marian Catholic High School has been tapped as the new head of the Chicago area's Catholic school system, Cardinal Francis George said Friday. Sister Mary Paul McCaughey said she
never applied for the job of superintendent of Catholic schools
for the Chicago Archdiocese, but "the more I look at it,
the more excited I become.'' A product of Chicago area Catholic schools, McCaughey said there is a "profound need'' for Catholic schools and she believes Chicago area parents are still willing to "sacrifice and invest'' in them. "Our first job is to be what we say we are,'' she said at a news conference. "People will pay for that because, you know what? There's more to life than McMansions.'' On July 1, McCaughey will replace Nicholas Wolsonovich as head of the nation's second-largest Catholic school system. She will oversee 256 schools and 98,000 students in Lake and Cook counties. McCaughey conceded that Catholic school can be expensive -- tuition and fees are $7,400 at Marian Catholic in Chicago Heights. She said Catholic schools might consider allowing "sliding scale'' tuitions, organizing work programs for kids and providing scholarships to help fill the financial gap. "There's a million ways of doing it, and we'll unfold it later, when I take over in July, after I've had a chance to talk to schools,'' she said. George called McCaughey the "outstanding president of one of our best Catholic high schools'' in announcing her selection. Her job is to raise achievement, help Catholic faith-based schools grow, and possibly even add some schools, he said. A 1967 graduate of Marian Catholic, McCaughey was named both principal and president of Marian Catholic in 1992 and now serves as its president. Under her helm, enrollment grew from about 1,500 to a peak of 1,675 four years ago, said Marian Catholic's principal, Sister Kathleen Tait. However, the school in the last few years "purposely restricted enrollment'' so it could reduce class size to 25 kids, Tait said. Tait said that under McCaughey, the school saw a building boom, adding a new arts wing, gymnasium, college room, greenhouse, two science labs, a classroom addition and a leadership center. "She's very articulate. She's very visionary. And she has an uncanny ability to bring people along toward her vision,'' Tait said.
February 22, 2008
Galveston’s Sacred Heart Catholic Church will celebrate a special Mass to commemorate their arrival 125 years ago and to acknowledge their various educational and charitable contributions. Shortly after Sacred Heart’s 1882 success, the order created a free school for black children known as Holy Rosary. The idea of educating African-American children led to a storm of criticism as well as a threatened boycott, both of which the sisters successfully overcame. Galveston’s Sister Mary Frances Heins has been a part of the Dominican Order for more than 60 years. She entered as an 18-year-old girl fresh from high school. “The mission, as we started, was education,” she said. “We have widespread ministries.” Dominican nuns serve at O’Connell College Preparatory School and Galveston’s Literacy Center, as well as other parochial schools and in a variety of mainland vocations. “Our Dominican motto is ‘veritas,’ Latin for truth,” Heins said. “I have taught all my life and also been a school administrator. I think being a Dominican encourages creativity and teaching outside the box.” The line that led to Galveston’s shores is traditionally traced to St. Dominic, one of a family of saints born in the 12th century. Dominic built up his order by establishing houses in Italy, Spain and France. His friars and nuns can be seen in both classic paintings and more recent photos wearing their traditional dress — a black shoulder cloak, cape or vest over a white priest’s robe or nun’s habit. Heins said she was aware that the average age of nuns in the United States has now topped 70 and fewer and fewer young women are choosing religious orders compared to other ministry options. “We (sisters) talk about that all the time, but we don’t think that we will die out as an institution,” she said. “We still have quality people who want to join us. “We even have a person who is assigned to help those who might want to learn about us. We also hold meetings for those who are interested in finding out more.” According to the Handbook of Texas, Galveston’s frequent storms, as in major hurricanes, drove the order’s headquarters from its original island location, a rambling, wooden building at 16th and Market streets, to the relative safety of nearby Houston in 1926, where it has remained to this day. But if that is why they left, there might also be a little known reason as to why they first came: Heins suggested Bishop Gallagher did have grounds to believe that these particular nuns would be perfect for what he had in mind for 19th century Galveston. “I think our Sister Agnes, the leader of the group, was Bishop Gallagher’s niece,” she said. At A Glance WHAT: 125th Anniversary Mass commemorating the arrival of the Dominican Sisters in Texas WHERE: Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 1302 Broadway, Galveston WHEN: Noon, March 1 INFORMATION: On the Mass, call 409-762-6374; on the religious order itself, call Pat Casey, 713-440-3706 School Offers Explanation For Ref's Removal POSTED: 1:53 pm CST February 20, 2008 Topeka KS Michelle Campbell, 49, and other referees have said Campbell was told she could not officiate a game Feb. 2 at the school near Topeka, Kan., because the school did not believe women should have authority over boys. The Kansas State High School Activities Association said referees reported that Michelle Campbell was preparing to officiate at St. Mary's Academy near Topeka, Kan., on Feb. 2 when a school official insisted that Campbell could not call the game. The reason given, according to the referees: Campbell, as a woman, could not be put in a position of authority over boys because of the academy's beliefs. Campbell then walked off the court along with Darin Putthoff, the referee who was to work the game with her. "I said 'If Michelle has to leave, then I'm leaving with her,' " Putthoff said on Wednesday. "I was disappointed that it happened to Michelle. I've never heard of anything like that." "This alleged reason was neither stated nor is it held by any officials of St. Mary's Academy," the Rev. Vicente Griego, headmaster of St. Mary's Academy, said in a written statement released Tuesday. "The formation of adolescent boys is best accomplished by male role models, as the formation of girls is best accomplished by women," the statement said. "Hence in the boys' athletic competitions, it is important that the various role models (coaches and referees) be men." On Wednesday, Darin Putthoff, the referee who was scheduled to work the game with Campbell, stood by his account about what happened about 10 minutes before the Feb. 2 game. Putthoff said St. Mary's Athletic Director Keith Perry told him, "We have a problem: we don't allow women to referee here" and "it's something to do with women having authority over men." "That's what his statement was," Putthoff said. "He seemed kind of shocked and didn't really know what he was talking about or have an understanding of the policy. He was shooting from the hip." Campbell, 49, of Ozawkie, Kan., did not return a phone call Wednesday from The Associated Press. She is a retired police officer in her second year as a referee. In earlier interviews, Campbell said she did not mean for the incident to attract so much attention and reported it to the Kansas State High School Activities Association only so it could be aware of the school's stance in case the issue comes up again. In his statement, Griego said the academy has "many honorable ladies of talent and erudition" on its faculty and staff and believes the Old Testament's Fourth Commandment requires honor to father and mother "as well as all authority." He said the Catholic church has always promoted the ideal of educating boys and girls separately during adolescence, particularly in physical education. And, he said, boys who are being taught to respect women and girls cannot be placed in athletic competitions "where they are forced to play inhibited by their concern about running into a female referee." St. Mary's Academy, about 25 miles northwest of Topeka, Kan., is owned and operated by the Society of St. Pius X, which follows older Roman Catholic laws. The society's world leader, the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, was excommunicated by Pope John Paul II in the late 1980s. Putthoff, the pastor of a non-denominational church in Topeka, said Perry was a friend and he had nothing against St. Mary's Academy. But, he added, "the institution is backpedaling and looking for an escape hatch." The school said Wednesday that Griego was not available for further comment. The Kansas State High School Activities Association has scheduled a hearing for March 11 to discuss the incident. The association could decide to remove St. Mary's Academy from its list of approved schools, which means St. Mary's could not compete against the association's more than 300 member schools. If it is removed, St. Mary's Academy still would be able to compete against approved schools that are not members of the association.
WATERBURY CT --- A 1980 graduate of Holy Cross High School has been chosen as the 40-year-old Catholic school's next principal. Daniel Scavone, 45, is currently an assistant principal and athletic director at Woodland Regional High School in Beacon Falls. This summer, he'll become the sixth principal of Holy Cross, taking over for retiring Acting Principal Amadeo Rinaldi. “He understands Holy Cross. He gets Holy Cross,” said Timothy McDonald, the school's president. “There is no question in my mind he was the right person at the right time.” About 800 students attend Holy Cross, a four-year college preparatory school on Oronoke Road in Waterbury with a yearly tuition of $8,050. McDonald approached Scavone about the job last year, and made the decision official this week. He knows Scavone as a former student and from their mutual involvement in regional sports activities and organizations. McDonald said he admires Scavone's drive, creativity and leadership ability.
Sister Anna Flanigan began her first year as principal at St. Boniface Catholic School in Edwardsville at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. She came to St. Boniface after working seven years in campus ministry at the University of Illinois. Before that, she was a principal at a Catholic school in Springfield. She works to ensure the children learn in a safe environment, the curriculum is followed and the “Catholic environment and identity permeates the entire complex.” Flanigan makes daily visits to classrooms in the 187-student school, which houses kindergarten through eighth grade. St. Boniface also operates a preschool, with some 73 children, ages 3 and 4. Flanigan is also a familiar face in the lunchroom and outside during recess. “I’m all over,” she said. “The kids certainly know who I am. I probably know 99 percent of them by name. I think that personal touch and being able to call them by name is an important thing.” However, she has implemented several new activities, such as 10-minute prayer before school every Thursday for teachers and staff and teacher meetings every other Monday for an hour. The children attend Mass once per week and sometimes twice per week, based on a rotating schedule. Flanigan starts off each week by saying a prayer over the school’s intercom. “I’m really proud of the school; we have a wonderful staff,” she said. “I didn’t come in to revamp a program. I had no reason to. I’m here to lead the already good people.” During Lent, the children gather in the school’s gym for liturgical prayer. They also perform the Stations of the Cross on Friday afternoons. “I really believe in student involvement,” Flanigan said. She works closely with the Rev. Jeff Goeckner, another new face at St. Boniface Catholic Church. Goeckner recruited Flanigan and Sister Kathleen Anna, who both moved to Edwardsville in late July 2007. Sister Kathleen Ann heads the art program and coordinates religious education for the school. Flanigan is not new to the area. She attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and attended St. Boniface Church. “In many, many ways, it was like returning home,” she said. Flanigan has a master’s degree in religious education and a certificate of advanced studies in educational administration. She taught for five years before becoming a nun.
Thu February 21, 2008 - FORT WASHINGTON,
Md. The school has been struggling with sagging enrollment and a widening deficit. St. Ignatius Parish poured $205,000 into the 39-year-old school last year. The pastor, the Reverend Robert Finamore, says the parish sacrificed a lot for the school, but can no longer manage it. ABC 7 News myTAKE - What's Your Opinion?The archdiocese is facing chronic under-enrollment at its schools in D.C. and nearby Maryland suburbs. Last year it announced plans to convert seven elementary schools in D.C. to charter schools. The archdiocese also closed two schools in Prince George's County last year. The archdiocese is encouraging students at St. Ignatius to transfer to nearby Catholic schools.
BURRILLVILLE, R.I. - A Catholic school in Pascoag faces closure unless it can enroll enough students for the next school year. The Diocese of Providence says the Father Holland Catholic School has about ten days to meet a minimum of 110 paid student enrollments in kindergarten through Grade 8 for the 2008-2009 school year or face closure. Diocese spokesman Michael Guilfoyle told the Woonsocket Call that is the minimum number of students the school must have to remain financially viable. Father Holland Principal Shawn Capron says she is confident the school will remain open because they are already "extremely close" to the enrollment goal. The school currently has 108 students in kindergarten through Grade 8 and 27 students in the pre-kindergarten program.
Tennessee The school’s plan to expand
its facility at 1601 N. Tennessee Blvd. was approved Wednesday
by the Murfreesboro Planning Commission. The school expects to
break ground on the addition in April, said Sister Mary Cecilia
Goodrum, the school’s principal. “Anytime you support Catholic education, you are supporting children who are going to want to support their community,” she said. The 7,309-square-foot addition is the first phase of the school’s four-phase expansion project. The school will expand over the next three years as part of a $3 million capital campaign. The first phase will add a new preschool, classrooms for art, Spanish and math and a new science lab. The current preschool will be renovated and used for meeting rooms, Goodrum said. About six new rooms will be added
on each end of the current school building. Goodrum expects at least 25 additional students during the next school year. No grades will be added. The school currently has two sets of classes for grades K-6 but not seventh and eighth grade. The expansion will allow a second class for seventh and eighth grades to be added. As Rutherford County’s population has grown, the school’s enrollment has grown along with it. Goodrum said the school also has had an increased interest within the Hispanic community. Founded in 1953 by the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood, the school began with four classrooms and two grades to each room. The school served the Murfreesboro parish and children of Catholics at Sewart Air Force Base in Smyrna, according to the school’s Web site. When the base closed in 1969, the school closed shortly after because the majority of the students and faculty were from the base. Decades later, many parents approached Bishop Edward Kmiec to reopen the school, Cecilia said. Kmeic decided to do so in 1999. The Dominican Sisters of Nashville
administer and staff the school. One of the oldest Catholic Schools in Miami-Dade County will close at the end of the school year, officials from the Archdiocese of Miami announced Wednesday. Administrators decided to shut down St. Monica Catholic School, 3490 NW 191st St. in Opa-locka, after several years of financial woes. ''This type of announcement is never easy, particularly for our dedicated faculty and staff,'' Superintendent Kristen Hughes said. ``But, given market forces, it is the right business decision to make.'' Officials said the school had experienced a steady decline in enrollment. Administrators were also having trouble finding money to fund operations and student assistance. St. Monica's enrolls about 200 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.
When teachers at Notre Dame Catholic School received the bad news last week, they gave their students an extra-long recess outdoors, and cried. Then they pulled themselves together and threw the Valentine's Day party the children were expecting. After more than 150 years of offering catechism instruction along with reading, writing and arithmetic, Notre Dame Catholic School in Marysville will graduate its last eighth-grade class this year. It opened as the College of Notre Dame in 1856. Officials from the Diocese of Sacramento announced their decision last week to close the K-8 parochial school after the school year. "The school was built for 300 students and now it only has 64," said Kevin Eckery, spokesman for the diocese. "Financially, there just was not enough support," said Notre Dame's principal, Dr. Paul Broughton. According to the school's teachers, fewer and fewer parents in the area have been able to afford the annual $3,450 tuition per student. Notre Dame had as many as 188 students just four years ago. "The economics of this area are a big part" of the decline, said Bronwyn Eisermann, 33, the school's kindergarten teacher. Declining enrollment has made running the private school exorbitantly expensive, said Eckery. Similar conclusions have been drawn in cities across the country. According to the National Catholic Education Association, enrollment in Catholic elementary schools nationally has dropped 15 percent since the 2001-02 school year. More than 212 U.S. Catholic schools closed or consolidated during the 2006-07 school year alone, according to NCEA numbers. The scope of this trend does nothing to comfort Kelly Kemmerly, 42, parent to two current Notre Dame students as well as a part-time teacher there. Mere mention of the 2007 Blessing of the Animals — an annual event for the school — brought tears to her eyes. "We didn't even know it, but that was our last one," she said. Broughton and an advisory board made up of parents and students already have begun the process of trying to create a new public charter school within the Marysville Joint Unified School District. Hopefully, Broughton said, "we'll be able to continue the school, but without the religious instruction." The group will model the charter school on one in Paradise that has a similar history and population, Broughton said. Eisermann, Kemmerly and the school's other teachers say they support the charter school idea, and that they will teach at the new school, if it comes to fruition. Like many others who work or volunteer at Notre Dame, Eisermann attended the school herself. She returned to teach 10 years ago upon graduating college. Losing the school, she said, "is like a death." Notre Dame "has its own spirit," said Broughton. "We'd really like to be able to continue that."
Members of the Rockin' Hawks Pep and Jazz Band from Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo make the circuit of Catholic grade schools during Catholic Schools week. Missouri The Rockin' Hawks Jazz and Pep Band from Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo logs some miles during Catholic Schools Week. The ensemble performs a concert at each Catholic grade school in Monroe County and surrounding areas-including Ss. Peter & Paul in Waterloo, Immaculate Conception in Columbia, St. James in Millstadt and St. John in Smithton. It's a time to celebrate all that being a student at a Catholic high school encompasses-faith, bright ideas, being a teen and prepping academically for college.Accordingly, Gibault students let their attire speak those values, with bright colors, pajamas and favorite college shirts or hoodies all week. At Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic, where a heavy measure of Gibault students matriculate as youngsters, PJ's were also in style. So were crazy hairdos and hideous mismatches of clothing. "It was Clash Day," Tess Skaggs, a 4th grader, said. "You're supposed to wear clothes that don't match." "Catholic schools is a lot like other schools, except you have to wear uniforms," Claudia Bradley said. "And we get to have Catholic Schools Week," Skaggs said. A signature activity at Ss. Peter & Paul each year during Catholic Schools Week is the rummage sale, the proceeds from which benefit overseas missions. "It's been a great tradition for 24 years," teacher Judy Haberl, who started it back then, said. "Our goal is $3,000, which we exceeded last year." When students are finished with lunch, they get a chance to go to the gym and purchase items donated from the parish. Fifth graders and their teachers run the rummage sale. "I like being here and helping the poor people," 5th grader Morgan Blechle said. "We do a lot of that during Catholic Schools Week." "The Silly Olympics were fun," Mara Bucheit said. "I liked one relay race where we had to run to the end of the gym, where a teacher was holding a licorice stick. We had to try to eat it and run back."
Posted: Feb 19, 2008 03:30 PM Palm Desert, CA Xavier College Preparatory, the Coachella Valley's only Catholic High School, was granted full accreditation, officials announced Tuesday. The term of initial accreditation was granted Feb. 5 by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and will run through June 30, 2011. "Now that we've successfully achieved our accreditation goals, we're excited about moving forward with additional efforts to offer more educational value for our students," principal Chris Alling said. "Our next steps include starting a full self-study program that will be part of our ongoing school improvement efforts, exploring the International Baccalaureate Diploma program, and enhancing our service-learning programs for our juniors and seniors." WASC accreditation endorses the quality of the school's academic and co-curricular programs and fosters continual improvement of programs and operations to support student learning. Additionally, colleges and universities examine transcripts to determine if students have attended accredited institutions. The Jesuit-endorsed, co-educational high school is in its second year of operation and currently has 129 students. The community is invited to learn more about the school at an Open House scheduled for March 2. Details will also be available regarding financial aid.
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