Queen of Peace and Saint John of the Cross Parish Schools Come Together

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced today that Queen of Peace Parish School in Ardsley and Saint John of the Cross Parish School in Roslyn will form a new regional school, as yet unnamed, at the site of the current Queen of Peace Parish campus in September 2010. Reverend John D. Reardon, Pastor of St. John of the Cross Parish, and Reverend Lawrence F. Crehan, Pastor of Queen of Peace Parish, announced at Masses this weekend that the recommendation to merge their individual parish schools into a regional Catholic school was recently approved by Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia. The new name will be chosen by Cardinal Rigali with input by school families and the steering committees.

"Both Queen of Peace and St. John of the Cross have long traditions of offering high quality Catholic education rooted in Gospel Values," said Cardinal Justin Rigali. "Now, those exceptional schools will combine powerfully into a new regional school that will serve our students well and build upon the legacies and reputations of Queen of Peace and St. John of the Cross."

In September 2009, the two parishes requested permission from the Cardinal to study the viability of a regional grade school. The schools formed a steering committee, consisting of pastors, principals and lay representatives from each parish. With overwhelming support from both parishes to form a new regional Catholic school, the Steering Committee came to a unanimous decision to close both parish schools and form a new school, which will allow the parishes to pool resources and offer students the best, values-based academic experience.

"I would like to express thanks to Fr. Reardon, Fr. Crehan and the schools' Steering Committee who have completed these school studies thoroughly and with great care to provide a superior Catholic education for the future children in this community," said Cardinal Rigali. "The transition naturally may be difficult for our teachers, school families and students, so I have asked the Office of Catholic Education to do everything possible to assist them as we look positively to the future."

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Meredith Wilson
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