Demographics, economy force changes to Catholic schools

Rhode Island Catholic Online Exclusive

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PROVIDENCE – Following trends in dioceses throughout the country, Rhode Island's Catholic schools are expecting some substantial changes in the coming year that will alter the face of education in several cities.

The Catholic Schools Office made a series of announcements today involving four Catholic elementary schools:

• St. Leo the Great parish school in Pawtucket will close at the end of this school year.

• Despite a challenging year, St. Kevin School in Warwick will remain open for the 2008-2009 school year.

• Father Holland School in Pascoag will remain open but will no longer be a part of the Greater Woonsocket Regional Catholic School System. Instead, it will become the parish school at St. Joseph. The school will keep its current name.

• Cranston Johnston Regional Catholic School plans to sell its current property and build a new, state-of-the-art building on property adjacent to Immaculate Conception Church in Cranston. The school will become the Immaculate Conception Catholic Regional School and will be under the direction of that parish.

The announcements appear to reflect the economic and demographic shifts that the entire state is facing. Sheila Durante, superintendent of diocesan schools, said the changes are a response to pressures that the schools and her office have been feeling for several years, as well as a statewide economic downturn that does not seem to be showing any signs of letting up.

"What we're trying to do is plan for the future," Durante said. "We know that certainly the demographic situation is changing in the state and we are very cognizant of the fact that economics are playing a large role in the ability of people to send children to Catholic schools, so we are looking at all sorts of alternative models."

Father Holland School and Cranston Johnston Regional Catholic School, though markedly different from one another, are in part responding to changes in their community's demographics. It no longer made sense for the struggling Father Holland School to be part of a school system based in Woonsocket; they were too far away and too different from other schools in the city.

Shawn Capron, the school's principal, said the change reflects fundamental differences between the schools in the Woonsocket Regional system and hers. "They really were fantastic to work with and to work for, but they were Woonsocket and we were Burrillville – the identities are a little bit different," she said.

Consequently, the school and parish decided that a parish school more focused on its specific community was a viable alternative. The Greater Woonsocket Regional Catholic School System had voted to close the school; however, an aggressive effort by the school and parents resulted in a sharp increase in enrollment.

At Cranston Johnston Regional Catholic School, officials decided that the regional model wasn't working as well as it needed to, either. "To be honest, the regional school concept just didn't seem to take here," said Father Ronald Brassard, the pastor at Immaculate Conception Church. He added that even with two parishes claiming partial responsibility, the school was still often an "orphan." When the new school opens – it is scheduled to be complete for the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year – "Immaculate Conception parish will assume the responsibility in all areas...the physical responsibility and the spiritual responsibility," Father Brassard said.

The decision to build a completely new facility was a result of a number of expensive repairs and upgrades that the current building needs. Those involved with the school decided that selling the existing property and putting the proceeds toward a more up-to-date school made the most financial sense.

For the community at St. Kevin School in Warwick, the shifting demographics of the city, coupled with the rising costs of running a school, caused a particularly chaotic year. Last fall, the future was left uncertain when a proposed plan to reconfigure three of Warwick's Catholic elementary schools and turn St. Kevin into a middle school run by Bishop Hendricken High School fell through. As St. Kevin struggled with declining enrollment and rising operational costs, it was clear that keeping the school open would be a feat. But Father David E. Green, pastor at St. Kevin, said the school and parish community rallied around the struggling school and their hard work has enabled it to remain open.

"The rallying of the support was tremendous. The work they've done is tremendous," he said. Five separate committees have formed to address problems of enrollment, debt and funding. "When the proposal was dropped, we were left looking at quite a bit of debt in the parish and a high subsidy," Father Green said. The parish began a capital campaign to riase money and the committees have also worked on a variety of other approaches to keep the school viable. Those include increased fundraising and recruitment as well as corporate sponsorship and business partners to make donations toward the school's operational costs.

Sadly, none of the solutions that have preserved Catholic education at three schools seemed to work for St. Leo the Great parish school in Pawtucket. Durante, as well as the pastor, Father Kevin R. Fisette, and the principal, Lisa Lepore, cited the city's changing demographics and today's economic challenges as ultimately forcing the school's closure. "We have been working for over a year with them and trying to see what the possibilities could be," Durante said. "Financially it just didn't work out."

St. Leo is currently home to 172 students in grades K-8, who were notified on Thursday that they will not be returning next September. Lepore spoke to the students in fourth grade and above, but left the news for parents to tell the younger children. A note was sent home with every student.

The closing is not a complete shock to the St. Leo community. The school held a meeting in December for parents to discuss the unstable situation. Lepore and Father Fisette both said that may have done more harm than good. "Parents got frightened at the meeting and panicked," she said. "But, I can't blame them because they looked elsewhere." As of the Catholic Schools Office's deadline for enrollment, Lepore reported 92 registered students for the next school year, far short of their goal of 165.

Lepore said Thursday was a "very emotional day, a very sad day." Late in the afternoon, she was still in her office with several staff members wrestling with what message to put on the sign outside. The sign usually bears good news and informs passersby about upcoming events, but the burden of the latest news seemed like too much for the sign to hold.

"I want to do something positive," Lepore said."We have to give these kids a great sendoff, as painful as that is."

Eventually they settled on a simple thank you: "Thank you for being a part of our family."

Following the closure of St. Leo, the city will continue to be served by two Catholic schools: Woodlawn Catholic Regional and St. Cecilia, as well as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in nearby Central Falls. In the letter sent home to parents, school officials made assurances that “every effort would be made to place their children at other Catholic schools.” The school will host an open house for parents on Tuesday, March 25 at 6:30 p.m. when area Catholic schools will present their programs and offer the St. Leo students placement.

Bishop Thomas J. Tobin expressed his gratitude yesterday for the 67 years of Catholic education that St. Leo School has provided the Pawtucket community. “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all those at St. Leo’s Parish who have worked hard and made tremendous sacrifices to provide Catholic education for so many years,” he said.

Lepore said much of her staff of 22 have been working and teaching at St. Leo for more than ten years. She started there as a teacher 23 years ago, and has been principal for the past seven. "You kind of know these people better than you know your own family," she said. "This is my home. My whole adult career has been here."

Lepore, like the teachers, is not sure what her future will hold. The Catholic Schools office has promised to give them priority placement in any jobs that open up throughout the diocese for the next school year, but it is still too early to know just where those openings will be, or whether there will be enough for every teacher who wants to continue working in the Catholic system.

For Durante, the mixed news about the Catholic schools is further proof that Rhode Island is a state that cannot be pigeonholed. What works in one city or town, she has found and these four cases prove, many not work in another. "I don't think you can look at a big plan because the schools are all different and the geographic places where they are are all different," she said. "We talk about everything as challenges instead of problems."