Four schools opt into regional pilot

Leaders at four schools on the Northwest Side who are cooperating on a pilot regionalization plan say they know one thing: whatever the new school configuration looks like, it will be innovative and exciting and provide an excellent education for its students.

Pastors at St. Cornelius, Our Lady of Victory, St. Pascal and St. Tarcissus and Archbishop Cupich announced Feb. 20 that they would work together to strengthen Catholic education on the Northwest Side by building enrollment, stabilizing finances and enhancing leadership skills.

“A Catholic education is proven to benefit our faith and civic communities, and it is vital that we provide the opportunity for future generations to have access to it,” said Archbishop Cupich. “As Catholic adults, it is up to us to make decisions that will continue this legacy for our children. We welcome the challenges of working together, to adapt as needed, and to build a sustainable system that ensures a transformative Catholic education in this region of Chicago.”

The new configuration is expected to be in place for the 2016-2017 school year.

Christina Bowman, principal at St. Cornelius, said the next step is for each parish’s planning team to conduct an evaluation of their own school before the four schools come together to work out how to go forward.

Planning teams include the pastors and principals, who then choose six to eight other people to help them, including stakeholders from teachers and parents to parish pastoral council members.

“I think the main area is going to be curriculum,” Bowman said. “That’s, I think, going to be the most important part of what this new school will look like.”

That’s also what will be most important to St. Cornelius families, Bowman said.

“Our school has a very strong academic program, so that’s what our parents want to see,” she said. “When we all get together, we’ll talk about what that will look like, what is the draw for our school. Do we want to have an emphasis on STEM and organize around science, technology, engineering and math, or should we have a focus on fine arts?”

As the school moves forward, they will also have the assistance of an advisory group of educational experts, including people who have worked on similar collaborations in the past.

Father Paul Seaman, pastor of St. Pascal, said, “It is our hope that this process allows us all to collectively search for a new configuration which will ensure Catholic education is a vibrant choice for families on the Northwest Side.”

“We embrace the possibility of collaborating in this bold vision for Catholic education,” said Mary Kearney, interim superintendent for the Office of Catholic Schools. “These participating parishes are strong communities of faith, with a proud history which can and will work together for the greater good. Serious attention will be given to integrating the traditions of each school in the final outcome.”

Six schools were invited to participate in this pilot program, with future programs anticipated. St. Constance and St. Thecla declined to participate in the regionalization and will continue to operate as single parish schools.

Bowman acknowledged that some parents at St. Cornelius were upset by news of the regionalization pilot last fall, but many have become more positive about the idea as they have had time to think about it.

“This really gives them a chance to have a say in designing their children’s education,” Bowman said.