Catholic schools closing
Four schools in the Diocese of Pittsburgh will merge – using two campuses – and two schools will close at the end of the 2019-20 school year, as part of the diocese’s ongoing reorganization.
St. Anne School in Castle Shannon, St. Bernard School in Mt. Lebanon, Our Lady of Grace School in Scott Township and St. Thomas More School in Bethel Park will merge to form one unified school program in 2020-21. The program will have two preschool – 8th grade site, one at St. Thomas More and one at St. Bernard.
St. Maria Goretti School in Bloomsburg and East Catholic School in Forest Hills will close.
Bishop David Zubick made the decisions based on recommendations from regional school leaders.
He acknowledged the sadness that comes with the merger or closure, and praised the efforts of school leaders, parents and the parish communities supporting the schools.
“As hard as it is to lose a beloved school, these steps will help Catholic education remain affordabl, accessible and sutainable for a new generation,” said Zubick.”Every student will continue to have a place in one of our Catholic schools. Our children are our future, and we feel a deep responsibility to them to be good stewards of Catholic education programs in our diocese so that we can provide a legacy of faith that our world so desperately needs.”
The merger was approved based on a formal recommendation from South Regional Catholic Elementary Schools Advisory Board.
The steps are part of a broader effort to strengthen Catholic schools for the long-term in the Diocese of Pittsburgh through regional governance. Instead of one parish supporting one school, all of the parishes will support all of the schools in that region.
Fr. David Poecking, a member of the advisory board, said, “We are especially eager to sustain support for children of special needs or from low-income or immigrant households, and we also hope to incorporate the excellent features of each school’s curriculum and programming.”
The closures of St. Maria Goretti and East Catholic were based upon several reasons, including a drop in enrollment and unsustainable debt.