In Archbishop Chaput’s most recent weekly online column, he stated, “First, the Blue Ribbon Commission report is not finally about ‘closing schools.’ It’s about putting Catholic education on a firm footing for the first time in decades.”

Residents of Fishtown and Port Richmond might disagree about their schools being on firm footing. As decided last week by the Blue Ribbon Commission, St. Laurentius, the last Catholic school in Fishtown, will merge with St. Peter the Apostle in Northern Liberties. St. George’s in Port Richmond is slated to merge with Our Lady of Port Richmond next school year.

Sister Rosalita Federici SSND, Principal of St. Peter’s School, stated, “According to the Blue Ribbon Commission, we are supposed to merge with St. Laurentius. The new regional school will be located on 5th Street.”

According to Ken Gavin, Associate Director of Communications for the Archdiocese, St. Peter’s has the capacity to accommodate St. Laurentius students.  “Based on all the numbers,” said Gavin, “from those graduating to the new students coming in, there is space at St. Peter’s for all the students.”  Gavin said that capacity was a factor considered by the Commission before making recommendations, stating, “We didn’t want to have to put 20 to 30 kids out in the cold. There is capacity at St. Peter’s for all students from St. Laurentius.”

Sr. Rita Marie Aponik CSSF, Principal of St. Laurentius, expressed great concern about the merger. She filed an appeal with the Archdiocese because St. Laurentius is not operating on a deficit. St. Laurentius also meets the current Archdiocesan enrollment requirements, with more than 200 students attending the school. However, Sister said that from what she understood, the Blue Ribbon Commission was not simply looking at how the school was currently operating. The commission was taking into consideration the projected enrollment and operational cost for years to come.

Nonetheless, Sister Rita believes the school’s appeal is warranted. In the past few years, St. Laurentius’ tuition was only raised by approximately $100 per year. This is a very small increase in comparison to most other Catholic schools.

The Blue Ribbon Commission has a web page that outlines the steps of making an appeal: www.faithinthefuture.com/blue-ribbon/appeals/. On that page, it lists the three basic steps as paraphrased here:

• Requesting a Review Meeting – the pastor and/or principal of the school requests an official meeting to appeal the commission’s decision for a merger or closure.
• Attending the Review Meeting – where the Blue Ribbon commission states the reasoning for their decision, and the school states the factual reasoning for its request for an appeal.
• Meeting Follow-up – The commission presents all information to the Archbishop, and he makes a final decision on the school’s fate. The web page states that these final decisions will be made by mid-February of this year.

Sister Rita said that Archbishop Chaput was very clear about how schools should state their case in appeal. “Any school that wants to appeal needs to present factual information,” said Sister Rita, “not an argument of sentiment.” That is understandable, since ultimately, this is a fiscal decision being made. But it is difficult for parents and teachers not to react emotionally when the futures and wellbeing of young students are at stake. Although Sister Rita said that St. Laurentius students are handling the news of the merger fairly well for the most part, she also said some sad feelings are evident among the student body. “I am sure that our seventh grade students are especially worried, wondering where they will graduate from,” Sister said, “They wonder if they will all be together at graduation after spending all of these years together.” The students at St. Laurentius who transferred from St. Anne’s after its closing just last year must also feel especially uneasy.

Another strong concern about St. Laurentius merging with St. Peter’s is transportation. This would be the first time Fishtown parents would not have a Catholic school in the neighborhood in walking distance. Since most students, live less than a mile and a half from St. Peter’s, it does not seem that bussing would be an option. But what about parents who do not drive or cannot drive their students to 5th and Girard because they have to work? What about young students who require after-school tutoring or extra-curricular activities? Should their parents allow them to cross Girard Avenue, Frankford Avenue, and Front Street? These are big and busy streets.  This is a genuine concern that seems to be going unaddressed.

In Port Richmond….

Our Lady of Port Richmond is a regional grade school and is based out of the former site of St. Adalbert’s.  OLPR was formed through the merger of three parish schools: St. Adalbert’s, Nativity B.V.M, and Our Lady Help of Christians.  It is the recommendation of the Commission that St. George School be closed and the students attend OLPR.

Saint George’s School did file an appeal for the commission’s decision, and a review meeting was held Tuesday, January 17th. I asked Daniel Markowski, Principal at St. George’s, how students, alumni, and parents were reacting. He replied, “A rally of support was organized by parents and friends of Saint George within two hours on the day of the announcement of the Blue Ribbon Commission.  Families vowed to fight the recommendations and committees were formed to prepare for an appeal.  Parents have also created signs of support, produced “Save Our School” tee shirts, blue and gold bows on houses (school colors) and various Facebook and Internet support sites.”

Markowski went on to say, “The students have many questions and many emotions, just as the adults do.  However, the faculty and staff are trying to keep our focus of educating the children in our care today so that they are not engulfed by all of the chaos around them at this time.  Alumni have been coming out of the woodwork, and our parents have been amazing!”

When asked if he had any recommendations to parishioners, parents, and alumni, Markowski said, “We encourage our entire SGS community and all supporters to continue to keep us in your prayers as we fight the good fight!”

Sister Sr. Mary Ripp, S.C.C., principal of Our Lady of Port Richmond Regional Catholic School shared her thoughts regarding the merger with Saint George.  ”As a school comprised of families that have already been through the regionalization process, we fully understand what the families of Saint George, and all of the others who are facing change, are experiencing.  And our hearts and prayers go out to all of them at this time.”

There are concerns whether the regional schools have the capacity to accommodate the students from the other schools.  With regard to OLPR, Sister Ripp said, “Our building capacity truly depends on the number of students who are interested in attending the proposed regional school at the Thompson Street site, and it is a challenge for us to make this determination without understanding the number of parents who might be interested in enrolling their students.  However, the Archdiocese has a system in place to assist us with this, and information will be sent home to currently enrolled students soon.”

Markowski spoke on the difficulty of the situation for everyone involved, stating, “Emotions are at an all time high, and people are left with more questions about their future and its stability.  Parents and students are left to wonder about where they will be educated.  Teachers and staff are hanging in the balance of whether or not they will have a job to support their own families.  And parishioners and community members are wondering how this will affect the future of their church and neighborhood.  The way these recommendations were developed left out a major factor – a collaboration of the people directly involved in these communities.  At this point, we are trying to remain positive and explore every option for the future of all those involved.”

I believe Mr. Markowski is right in encouraging a positive attitude for everyone who is affected by this situation. As a community, we really do not know what will happen or what the effects will be down the line. I asked Sister Rosalita (St. Peter the Apostle) if she had any personal statement or comment about the Blue Ribbon Commission’s recent decision. “It’s in God’s hands,” she replied. Being a man of faith, I truly hope that it is. I understand that it takes money to run schools. However, I am afraid if we start to look at the system of Catholic education only from an economic standpoint, we are abandoning many of the teachings of Jesus himself. And if that is the case, if that is the direction the system is heading in, is it really worth being put on firm footing?