One of my parishioners got out of an Uber yesterday and said how sad it was that we are closing the school. I explained that we are not closing the school but suspending classes for a year to do a feasibility study and develop a curriculum, marketing strategy, and business plan. “But the Uber driver,” she replied, “said that Star of the Sea School is closing after 110 years.” Such is the narrative in local papers and social media, a story some are promoting presumably to hamstring our Classical Catholic School.
We are not closing but "rebooting." It is not what I would have wanted, and in fact many of us spent ten months, and sustained a $700,000 deficit, trying to maintain classes uninterrupted as enrollment sank. The deal breaker, for at least a vocal group of parents (who do not attend the parish), was restoring the school as a ministry of the parish. For many years the school had run itself functionally independent of the parish. One parent posted on social media, for example, that “Star of the Sea School and the adjoining church share a name and real estate, but not leadership and members. The two organizations are technically separate, and most of the students and their parents are not members of the church.” Exactly. The fact that some parents would think a parish school was “technically separate” from its parish called for some healthy reintegration.
It is quite understandable how, in such a situation, some would resist parish oversight. In the end, those opposed to integration were vocal enough to sink enrollment. My heart goes out to students and families who must find another school, especially those who wanted to stay at Star of the Sea.
But, God willing, it is not the end of our School. The search has begun for an educator with experience in starting a classical school eager to meet the particular challenges at Star of the Sea. We are welcoming resumes, and, with God’s help, will build on our fully-enrolled preschool to resume upper classes with an Integrated Classical Program beginning August 2020.
We are not closing but "rebooting." It is not what I would have wanted, and in fact many of us spent ten months, and sustained a $700,000 deficit, trying to maintain classes uninterrupted as enrollment sank. The deal breaker, for at least a vocal group of parents (who do not attend the parish), was restoring the school as a ministry of the parish. For many years the school had run itself functionally independent of the parish. One parent posted on social media, for example, that “Star of the Sea School and the adjoining church share a name and real estate, but not leadership and members. The two organizations are technically separate, and most of the students and their parents are not members of the church.” Exactly. The fact that some parents would think a parish school was “technically separate” from its parish called for some healthy reintegration.
It is quite understandable how, in such a situation, some would resist parish oversight. In the end, those opposed to integration were vocal enough to sink enrollment. My heart goes out to students and families who must find another school, especially those who wanted to stay at Star of the Sea.
But, God willing, it is not the end of our School. The search has begun for an educator with experience in starting a classical school eager to meet the particular challenges at Star of the Sea. We are welcoming resumes, and, with God’s help, will build on our fully-enrolled preschool to resume upper classes with an Integrated Classical Program beginning August 2020.
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