Sign up for one of our email newsletters.
Updated 13 minutes ago
Several Catholic elementary schools in the North Hills will merge under a plan unveiled Saturday by Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.
The plan, which will take effect in the fall, involves 10 schools in various communities throughout the North Hills.
In a news release, Zubik said the schools “will become a ministry of all 32 parishes in the region, which will provide support for all the schools.”
He said a nonprofit corporation, North Hills Regional Catholic Elementary Schools, Inc., will provide oversight and administration for the 10 schools.
“The purpose of regionalization is first and foremost to benefit our students and to strengthen Catholic education,” Zubik wrote in a letter to parishioners and parents, according to the news release.
The changes include the following:• Saint Alexis and Saint Alphonsus schools in Wexford will merge to form a new elementary school with two campuses. Pre-K classes will be held at Saint Alexis and grades K-8 will be located at Saint Alphonsus.
• Saint Bonaventure School in Shaler, Saint Ursula School in Allison Park and Saint Mary of the Assumption School in Glenshaw will merge to form a new school with two campuses. Pre-K classes will be held at Saint Bonaventure and grades K-8 will be located at Saint Mary of the Assumption. The Saint Ursula school building will close in June.
• Saint Sebastian School in Ross and Saint Teresa of Avila School in Perrysville will merge to form a new school with two campuses. Pre-K and kindergarten classes will be held at Saint Teresa of Avila and grades 1-8 will be located at Saint Sebastian. While the K-8 model is the parent-preferred model in the North Hills schools, the recommendation of Pre-K and kindergarten at the Saint Teresa site was, in fact, reflective of that particular task force.
• Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary School in Bellevue and Northside Catholic School in Brighton Heights will develop strategic plans for the 2017-18 academic year. No changes are planned at this time.
• Saint James School in Sewickley and Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy in Aspinwall are not scheduled for reconfiguration, and will operate under the same regional governance structure as the eight schools listed above.
Separetely, Zubik announced that the K-6 education program at Holy Redeemer Catholic Elementary School in Ellwood City will close in June 2017 due to declining enrollment.
The school restructuring is a piece to the diocese's five-year planning initiative, called “On Mission for the Church Alive!” — which in early 2018 could usher in new mergers, closures and shared models across more than 190 parishes in Western Pennsylvania.
Diocese officials have said enrollment in Catholic schools is on the decline. In 2000, about 24,000 students were enrolled in 102 diocesan schools. This school year, about 12,000 students are enrolled in 59 schools.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
