Philadelphia archdiocese announces major school closings

Philadelphia archdiocese announces major school closings

"  Dramatic realignment to the Philadelphia Catholic school system is coming. Today, the archdiocese announced that it will close four high schools, and 44 elementary schools will either close or merge with other schools.
News of which schools were affected spread after a closed-door meeting this morning between the archdiocese and priests and school administrators at Neumann University. At a press conference this afternoon, Archbishop Charles Chaput spoke with optimism for the school system’s future.
“I’m convinced, if we take this report to heart … we can renew Catholic education across the archdiocese,” he said.
Other key recommendations from the commission were the establishment of a foundation dedicated exclusively to raising money to support schools; a new governance model consisting of an executive education board chaired by the auxiliary bishop overseeing Catholic education and four additional boards representing each area of education; and advocacy for government support to allow parents free choice in schools.
But the most impactful recommendation remains school realignment. Commission member Edward Hanway acknowledged that it was the most challenging and most controversial, but most necessary and long overdue."

.........