Catholics get word on school mergers in North Hills
Parishioners sad, but not surprised
Parishioners and parents at North Hills Catholic schools said they were sad Saturday, but not surprised.
Pastors at the 32 parishes in the area announced during evening Mass that Bishop David Zubik granted final approval for proposed school mergers submitted to him in December by task forces representing seven elementary schools.
St. Alexis and St. Alphonsus schools in Wexford will merge, with the pre-kindergarten students based at St. Alexis and students in kindergarten through eighth grade at St. Alphonsus.
St. Sebastian will merge with St. Teresa of Avila, both in Ross, with students in first through eighth grade based at St. Sebastian and the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students at St. Teresa of Avila.
St. Mary of the Assumption in Hampton, St. Bonaventure in Shaler and St. Ursula in Hampton will combine, with the prekindergarten students at St. Bonaventure and students in kindergarten through eighth grade at St. Mary. St. Ursula’s school, which was founded in 1911, will close in June.
“We’d been in limbo for the last two months,” said Meredith Kandravy, a parent at St. Mary. “Now that we have the official word, it’s like relief that that
part is over.”
A total of 11 schools in the North Hills will now be overseen by a new nonprofit, North Hills Catholic Elementary Schools, which will be run by a board of five pastors and four lay people. The board hired Michael C. Killmeyer, who has 26 years of experience as a teacher and administrator at Pittsburgh Catholic schools, to oversee and work with the principals of each school.
St. James School in Sewickley and Christ the Divine Teacher Academy also will be included in the new governance structure. Assumption and Northside Catholic schools will be included in the regionalization and spend the next year developing strategic plans, but no changes to those schools are planned for the next school year, diocesan officials said.
“We must do everything in our power to strengthen our schools — financially, academically and spiritually — so that they can continue to benefit our children, our communities and our world,” Bishop Zubik said in a statement Saturday.
The school changes are part of the larger On Mission for the Church Alive restructuring plan, in which the diocese is attempting to combine an evangelistic push with the need to get leaner amid declining membership and Mass attendance.
A similar model eventually will be put in place at all schools throughout the diocese, which has seen a 50 percent drop in overall elementary school enrollment since 2000.
Bill McQuaide, a member of Saint Ursula Parish, said he was sad to see the school close, but the dwindling enrollment made it necessary. Still, he said he had good memories from when his daughter attended Saint Ursula School.
Mr. McQuaide said his daughter went on to Hampton High School and eventually Carnegie Mellon University, so he believes she received a strong education at Saint Ursula.
“There's a lot of friendships made and a lot of camaraderie,” he said. “It’s a very tight-knit community.”
Antonette Farrah, whose two children attend St. Teresa of Avila, is disappointed that her children will no longer be able to attend the schools she and her husband originally chose for them. But she was pleased the task forces and the diocese were able to come up with a plan that, for the most part, preserves the kindergarten-througheighth grade model that is so distinctive to Catholic elementary schools. That was a concern for many parents when the diocese announced in the fall that it planned to consolidate the schools.
“I’m glad they kept a K-8 model,” Ms. Farrah said. “I think it’s a sad day for the parishes that lost their schools.”
She and her husband have already toured St. Alphonsus, but are also considering sending their kids to their neighborhood school in the North Allegheny School District next year.
“It’s been a stressful, chaotic school year and I’m not sure I want to be a part of another stressful, chaotic year,” Ms. Farrah said.
Parents and diocesan officials agree that there is still a lot of work to be done before the start of next school year.
The Rev. Nicholas Vaskov said the diocese plans to announce the tuition amount for each of the schools within the next 10 days. The new schools will also be selecting new names and mascots. School staff and parent groups will be meeting with the new regional administrator in coming weeks to talk about the next steps for the schools, he said.
The diocese hopes that the new administrative structure will not only be able to stabilize enrollment and tuition, but also ensure the schools have the same consistent access to technology and other resources.
“The schools coming together are only going to be stronger and be able to provide so much more for their students,” Father Vaskov said.
Ms. Kandravy called the changes “bittersweet.” While her school, St. Mary, will physically remain open, it will be given a new identity with a new name, mascot, teachers and students. She acknowledged that there are still a lot of unanswered questions about how the new model will work, but she and her children are optimistic. And she hoped the bishop’s announcement Saturday provided parents with closure so they can move forward for next year.
“It’s definitely going to be a change for everybody,” Ms. Kandravy said. “But there is still some excitement that we will be on the ground floor that we will be making this school what it was meant to be.”