Nine
Elementary Schools Adopt Strategic Plan Recommendations For Solid,
Stable Catholic Presence Into The Future The Archdiocese of Newark today announced that it has accepted the recommendations of pastors and school administrators of nine elementary schools in the Archdiocese to merge their current programs into four “area” school programs to serve their distinct geographic localities. The decision followed many months of study and consultation with the Archdiocesan Schools Advisory Council. The host sites for these programs – to be located in the Ironbound section of Newark, Union City, Jersey City and Fort Lee – will enable the Church to remain a strong. attractive and affordable education alternative for children and their parents in these communities. These mergers reinforce a strategic vision for Catholic schools into the next decade as a priority ministry for all Catholics and every parish in the Archdiocese. This strategic vision was announced in May 2004 as part of the Archdiocese’s New Energies Task Force Initiatives for Parishes and Schools. The new programs will serve students in grades K-8 or Pre-K-8. In commenting on the new directions for these schools, Sr. Dominica Rocchio, Secretary for Education and Superintendent of Schools of the Archdiocese, said, “In recent months, groups of pastors and administrators have approached the Schools Office to explore how to implement many of the elements of the Strategic Plan for Catholic Schools in the face of the population shifts that have occurred in their areas over the years, as well as the increased investment parents have had to make to ensure a Catholic education for their children. “After meeting with school parents and reviewing the challenges that exist for these schools in their current state, the four groups of pastors and principals came to the conclusion that they could fulfill the mission of providing a faith-based education more affordably and effectively by combining their education ministries into a single school building in their respective area.” All changes will take effect for the September 2005 school year. In Bergen County, students from Epiphany School in Cliffside Park will join Christ the Teacher Interparochial School in Ft. Lee. The pastors felt that Christ the Teacher, which has served effectively as a co-sponsored school for three Bergen County parishes for more than 13 years, was the appropriate location for the school because of the proximity of the communities. The school will be co-sponsored by Epiphany in Cliffside Park, Madonna and Holy Trinity in Ft. Lee, and Holy Rosary in Edgewater.
In the Ironbound section of Newark, Essex County, three neighboring
schools – Despite this encouraging news about the future of Catholic education in the Archdiocese, one elementary school in Newark, Our Lady of Good Counsel on Woodside Avenue, announced to parents and parishioners this past week that it would close at the end of the current school year. A recent survey of school parents indicated that only 77 students – roughly one half of the current student body – were planning on returning to the school in September. Students whose parents wish to continue to provide a Catholic education for their children may seek a program at one of the neighboring Catholic schools. The Archdiocese was also advised recently that Bender Memorial Academy in Elizabeth, a private elementary school operated by the Benedictine Sisters of Elizabeth, would close at the end of the current school year. The community advised the Archdiocese that it could no longer afford to maintain the school without significantly affecting the quality of education.
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