Today, representatives from Saint John the Baptist Parish School in Ottsville (Bucks County), the Regina Academies and the Office of Catholic Education gathered for an announcement regarding a partnership between the school and the Regina Academies. In recent years, the school had struggled with sustainability issues due to low enrollment. This arrangement will serve to preserve the presence of Catholic education in Ottsville at the elementary level.

Effective July 1, 2014, Saint John the Baptist will transition from a parish school to a private Catholic School-The Regina Academy at Saint John the Baptist. As a result, Saint John's will embrace a different style of education and incorporate the model of the Regina Academies currently operating throughout the Delaware Valley as independent Catholic schools.

To this end, Saint John's will establish a curriculum that will expand the horizons of our students beginning with the 2014-2015 academic year. The school will begin to transition to an educational philosophy based on grammar, classical writings, Latin and the catechism.

As with all Regina Academies, positioning the school within the setting of an active parish with the availability of a church for liturgy and prayer is integral to the fulfillment of its mission.

"Our numbers may be small, but our faculty and staff work very hard to provide your children with the quality Catholic education parents expect and deserve," says Mr. Michael Patterson, Principal of Saint John's. "This is an exciting time for the Saint John the Baptist Parish community and especially for our school children. We are so grateful to our dedicated faculty and staff and to the Regina Academies for this wonderful opportunity."

This partnership between the parish and the Regina Academies will not bring an increase in tuition next year. All current tuition rates and discounts will remain in place. Additionally, the scholarship opportunities currently extended to school families through BLOCS and BRAVO will still be available. The school uniform will also remain unchanged.

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Editor's Note: The first Regina Academy, Pre-K through 8th grade, was founded in 2003 in Abington (Montgomery County). The success of Regina Coeli Academy brought forth two sister academies, Regina Angelorum Academy in Ardmore (Delaware County) and Regina Luminis Academy in Downingtown (Chester County).

Saint John the Baptist Parish School was founded in 1784 and is a Catholic School Community committed to leading its students to know, love and serve the Lord. The school develops the spiritual, moral and intellectual foundation of its students to prepare them to be virtuous, productive citizens who are committed to Faith, Leadership and Community.

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Kenneth A. Gavin
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215-587-3747