Steering Committee
Recommendation
for Restructuring of
the five Manayunk Schools
Holy Family, St.
John the Baptist, St. Josaphat, St. Lucy
and St. Mary of the
Assumption Parishes
Focus on the Future
November 6-7, 2004
After two years of
hard work, consultation and prayer, the Steering Committee of the five parishes
in Manayunk has reached a consensus and plans to make a recommendation to His
Eminence, Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, regarding the
restructuring of the five Manayunk Schools in order to provide the highest
quality Catholic education possible to our students. We have a compelling
future that will be made brighter by this effort.
The Steering
Committee is made up of the Regional Vicar, Rev. Msgr. Francis W. Beach, pastors,
principals and lay representatives of each parish. The members are grateful for the prayers and input offered by so
many and are hopeful for continued involvement. There has been a tremendous amount of collaboration during the
past two years by the Steering Committee members, representatives of parishes
and school and community members.
On October 17th,
in the interest of full consultation, the parishes each held focus groups and
presented various possible scenarios for restructuring. Approximately 200 parents and parishioners
attended and worked with 24 facilitators to offer their input. An additional
300 people responded in writing to the three scenarios.
A restructuring is
necessary because of the changing age of the population and the declining
enrollment that has followed. Current
enrollment at all five schools combined is only 890 students; compared to 1285
just 3 years ago. When enrollment
declines, the cost to educate each student increases and it becomes difficult
to offer all of the ingredients of a quality Catholic education at an
affordable tuition rate. With the
restructuring, all standards for a quality, Catholic education will be
met. Offerings will include: Art, Music, Physical Education, Advanced
Math and Library Services.
Recommendation
After studying the
possible scenarios and examining written comments and the results of the focus
groups, the Steering Committee recommends what was called AScenario B.@ All five schools would be restructured into
one regional school. The sites of the
new regional school would be housed in the present school buildings of:
Holy Family School
where there will be a Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 8 program with one
principal,
St. Josaphat School
where there will be a Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 4 program
and St. Mary of the
Assumption School with Grades 5 through 8.
There will be a
principal and vice-principal in this split grade level site.
The Steering
Committee recommendation includes a longer term plan for the future as
well. If enrollment in the future
schools should drop below 600 students then the St. Mary of the Assumption site
would not be needed and that entire school, Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 8
would be located at the St. Josaphat site (the school located at the Holy
Family site would not be affected). If
enrollment should drop below 500 students, then the school located at the St.
Josaphat site would close and the school located at the Holy Family site would
be the only school.
There are many
benefits to AScenario B@ which was
selected. Based on the focus group
discussions and survey results, this recommendation would be the most
acceptable to families of our students.
It would result in the least amount of money spent on capital
improvements, which in turn allows us to invest more of our funds in upgrading
and enhancing education programs. That was a clear priority during the focus
group discussions.
Implementation
If, after reviewing
all of the findings of the Steering Committee, Cardinal Rigali accepts the
recommendation for restructuring, then an Implementation Committee will be
assembled. Typically, a decision is
announced in January, which allows time for the implementation work. This work will include decisions about
administration, tuition, school uniforms, teaching assignments and how children
are assigned to buildings. We know that
families are eager to learn details and all questions would be addressed during
the Implementation phase. Part of the process will be the important work of consultation
with the parish communities to determine possible names for the new regional
school.
Background
In a letter dated
December 19, 2003, which was shared with all the parishes in Manayunk, Cardinal
Rigali directed the five Manayunk Parishes to continue the feasibility study
for restructuring of their parish elementary schools for one year. During that time, the pastors kept
parishioners and school parents informed through periodic bulletin
announcements titled: AFocus on the Future.@
In Spring 2004, the
School Study Committee in each parish met many times. These committees provided information during the feasibility
study process, answered questions and received feedback from the parishioners
and school parents.
Following the work
of the School Study Committees, a Steering Committee was formed. The Steering Committee drew its members from
each of the School Study Committees and was responsible for pulling together
all of the findings and ideas of the five School Study Committees and
coordinating communication to all of the parishes. The pastors and Monsignor Beach would like to extend their deep
appreciation for the leadership offered by the members of the committee. They generously donated their time and were
dedicated to considering all of the input offered. Their commitment resulted in a recommendation that will ensure
that our children continue to receive an affordable, quality Catholic education
in the years to come.
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