St. Anne School gets makeover in bid to boost enrollment

While the Diocese of Pittsburgh considers parish consolidations and school closings, St. Anne School in Castle Shannon is making a concertedeffort to attract more students.

Over the past couple of years, the school has renovated classrooms and purchased technology equipment like iPads and microscopes. While the upgrades have made noticeable improvements, increasing enrollmenthas been a tougher task.

About 138 students in kindergarten through eighth grade attend St. Anne School with another 30 or so students attending preschool there. Three years ago, the school had 139 students, with 23 enrolled in its preschoolprogram.

“When I received my assignment [at St. Anne Parish], one of the things I really had to look at was the school. I made that a priority,” said the Rev. Michael Caridi, who has been pastor atSt. Anne since the summer of 2014.

Another goal is to increase enrollment to 200 students by the 2020-21 school year. By contrast, back in the 1960s, the school housed nearly 1,000 students.

While the goal still remains, principal Harmony Stewart said both public and Catholic schools have been losing students over the years as charter schools have grown in popularity.

“We are happy that we have remained the same and modestly increased our numbers over the past threeyears,” she said.

In the fall of 2014, Rev. Caridi formed a committee of parents and teachers that created a five-year plan for the school that included four key components: recruitment, renovations,retention and resources.

“The school needed a lot of TLC,” Rev.Caridi said.

Most of the classrooms have been renovated to include asbestos remediation, new carpet and paint, and the remaining classrooms will be tendedto over the summer.

“Our goals are to basically make as many improvements across the board as we can,” including curriculum and resources said Ms. Stewart, who has been at the school for three years.

She said the improvements help St. Anne “be more competitive with thepublic schools around us.”

Rev. Caridi said that Catholic education is a struggle for many differentreasons.

“God is, in general, less important in people’s lives these days,” he said, adding there are overall fewer children being brought up in the CatholicChurch.

At the school, he said the students practice the rosary after recess daily and also attend a weekly Mass in the school’schapel.

“God is kind of woven in all the stuffwe do,” the pastor said.

Regarding the curriculum at St. Anne,the focus has been on