FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 11, 2011
RECONFIGURATION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING
“AT-RISK” SCHOOLS ACCEPTED BY ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK
For more than a year, the Archdiocese of New York has been engaged in a strategic planning process, Pathways to Excellence, designed to ensure the long-term success of its Catholic schools. An initial phase of this strategic planning process was the creation of a reconfiguration committee – consisting of pastors, principals, parents, donors, and professional educators – that studied the long-term viability of the Catholic schools in the archdiocese. This past November, the archdiocese announced a list of 32 schools that the committee considered to be “at-risk” of losing the significant financial subsidies that they received from the archdiocese. Each of the schools was given an opportunity to present a proposal for its long-term sustainability. The proposals were carefully considered and evaluated.
After the committee’s extensive research and thoughtful deliberations were presented to Archbishop Dolan, he consulted with the pastors of the at-risk schools, regarding the recommendations of the reconfiguration committee. Because there are opportunities for students to receive a ready welcome and to enroll at near-by Catholic schools, student placement counselors will be assigned by district to assist all families affected by school closures, and to help transition students into another Catholic school. Those families facing financial hardship because of a change in school will be able to apply for assistance, and these requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Informational meetings for affected families will be announced in the coming weeks.
The following schools will close in June 2011, at the end of the current academic year:
Manhattan Schools Closing:
Saint Joseph of the Holy Family
All Saints
Our Lady of Sorrows
Bronx Schools Closing:
Saint Augustine
Saint John Vianney
Saint Martin of Tours
Saint Dominic
Saint Anthony-Saint Frances
Saint Pius V Girls High School
Staten Island Schools Closing:
Saint Margaret Mary
Saint Sylvester
Saint Roch
Saint Mary
Saint Ann, Ossining
Saint Anthony of Padua, West Harrison
Christ the King, Yonkers
Saint Bartholomew, Yonkers
Saint Mary, Yonkers
Saint Joseph, Croton Falls
Saint John the Evangelist, Mahopac
Sacred Heart School for the Arts, Mount Vernon
Saints Peter and Paul, Mount Vernon
Sacred Heart, Highland Falls (Orange County)
Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Cornwall-on-Hudson (Orange County)
Saint Joseph, New Windsor (Orange County)
Saint Augustine, Highland (Ulster County)
Saint Joseph, Middletown (Orange County)
The number of students at these elementary schools is 3,652, which represents 7 percent of those enrolled in Catholic elementary schools in the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, and Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Sullivan, Orange, Dutchess and Ulster counties. These schools have seen a decline in enrollment of 71 percent over the last five years. The number of affected secondary school students is 110, out of 26,501 currently enrolled across the archdiocese.
Good Shepherd, Manhattan
Holy Name of Jesus, Valhalla (Westchester County)
Saint Joseph, Kingston (Ulster County)
Saint Peter’s, Poughkeepsie (Dutchess County)
The committee has determined that several additional weeks of review and analysis are required before a final recommendation can be made about Sacred Heart of Jesus School in Manhattan. This decision will, however, be made with ample time for parents to register their child(ren) for September 2011.
“As we develop a comprehensive regional strategy to meet the needs of Catholic school families, we are now required to allocate our resources to support schools that have healthy enrollments, and can sustain themselves over time,” said Dr. Timothy J. McNiff, Superintendent of Schools. “The Archdiocese is not alone in facing financial challenges in education—we share these issues with public, private and other faith-based schools across the country. A top priority for the archdiocese will be providing pastoral support and educational guidance to every family personally affected by the process so that all the children now in a school to be closed can be warmly welcomed into a neighboring Catholic school.”
Click here to read the full press release in Spanish.