FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 20, 2011

SACRED HEART OF JESUS SCHOOL TO MERGE WITH HOLY CROSS SCHOOL ON WEST SIDE OF MANHATTAN

The Archdiocese of New York today announced that, after much consultation with parish and school leadership, Holy Cross School, located on 332 West 43rd Street, and Sacred Heart of Jesus School, located at 456 West 52nd Street, will merge into one school beginning in September 2011. Sacred Heart of Jesus School was one of the schools considered to be “at-risk,” and was the subject of additional review. This merger is another step in the reconfiguration process that was initiated as a result of Pathways to Excellence, the strategic plan for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York. The merged school will be located in the current Sacred Heart of Jesus School building.

Holy Cross School has 208 students currently enrolled in Grades PreK-8, and Sacred Heart of Jesus has 206 students in Grades PreK-8. The Sacred Heart of Jesus School has the capacity for more than 425 students.

The decision to merge Holy Cross School and Sacred Heart of Jesus School was made after careful consideration of how to best use existing buildings and resources to ensure that a fully enrolled and fully supported school would be available to families on the West side of Manhattan now, and in the future.  The merger will create a vibrant school community, which will continue to provide an excellent Catholic school education for its students, with the resources and space to develop new academic and extracurricular program enhancements. 

Catholic schools recognize the invaluable role parents play in their children’s education, and, to ensure the success of the merger, the superintendent of schools will assist the local communities establish a joint Parent Advisory Committee, with five members from each school. The committee will consult with the district superintendent and principals on areas of parental concern.

During this period of transition, Sacred Heart of Jesus Principal Mrs. Noelle Beale, and Holy Cross Principal Sr. Mary Theresa Dixon, OP will work with their school families to answer questions about the merger and what it will mean for students. In addition, the archdiocese has hired student placement counselors who will be working with all families whose schools are in transition. These counselors will contact parents and assist in setting up open houses, information sessions and school tours.

The merger of Holy Cross School and Sacred Heart of Jesus School reflects the direction of the reconfiguration process and will ultimately result in broad-based support for Catholic education from multiple local parishes. The Reconfiguration Committee, composed of pastors, principals, parents and representatives of the archdiocese conducted a thorough analysis of both the need and the resources necessary to sustain fully enrolled schools in thriving faith communities across the archdiocese.

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Click here to read the full press release in Spanish.