April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
SCHENECTADY EXPANSION
Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons examines idea of adding elementary school
Principal Michael Piatek said the diocesan school board gave ND-BG approval to explore the option of leasing the former St. Paul the Apostle School to open as an elementary school.
The former St. Paul the Apostle School is located at 2777 Albany Street, while ND-BG is located at 2602 Albany Street. The properties are within walking distance and ND-BG currently uses St. Paul's Church for school Masses.
Mr. Piatek will report back to the school board in February with his findings. If there is enough interest in the new program, then ND-BG could start planning.
"We need to show there is an interest in the community," Mr. Piatek clarified. "We have not been given the go-ahead."
He noted that the diocesan school board is looking for interest from at least 20 families before it will allow the proposal to go forward.
Streamlining
If the proposal is accepted, ND-BG would become the only Kindergarten through grade 12 school in Schenectady County. Mr. Piatek said this would give the faculty the opportunity to develop a streamlined curriculum.
Currently, he said, with children coming from 19 different school districts and other Catholic elementary schools, there are often transition problems.
For example, he said, not all sixth-graders come to the school with the same academic skills. Children enrolled in a lower school at ND-BG would make the transition to middle school seamlessly.
Mr. Piatek said that, if ND-BG is given permission to open an elementary school, it would receive no additional funds from the Diocese. However, families of students could apply to the Diocese for Lally scholarships or Beacon of Hope scholarships.
Tuition rates have yet to be discussed. Mr. Piatek said he planned on being equivalent to those at St. Helen's and St. John the Evangelist Schools in
Schenectady.
St. Helen's per-pupil cost is is $5,100 a year, but families can participate in the school's fundraising program and earn a tuition reduction of $1,900. St. John the Evangelist's per-pupil cost is $4,750; through a similar fundraising program, families can receive a credit of $1,550 towards tuition.
Tuition at ND-BG is $5,000 annually for sixth grade, $5,500 for seventh and eighth grades, and $6,100 for high school. If ND-BG opened a lower school, children entering sixth grade from the lower school would receive a $750 tuition credit, Mr. Piatek said.
Low overhead
ND-BG would be able to keep some overhead costs of operating an elementary school down by utilizing current resources: for example, an assistant principal from the school would serve as principal for the lower school; art, physical education and language teachers would also be shared, as would the lunch catering service.
Mr. Piatek said that an elementary school program would assist the middle and high school programs by providing additional students to feed into the upper school. He noted that, in recent years, fewer students have enrolled in ND-BG from its "feeder schools": St. Helen's, St. John the Evangelist, and St. Madeline Sophie.
ND-BG held three forums for community members to learn more about the proposal. Each had an average attendance of 45 participants.
At a recent forum, audience members were concerned about the fate of the existing Catholic elementary schools in Schenectady should ND-BG open an elementary school.
Brian Baldwin, president of St. Helen's school board, said: "It's hard to imagine that we can do this and [ensure] all of the [Catholic] schools in Schenectady surviving."
Check with parents
Mr. Baldwin suggested that if ND-BG is concerned about a lack of students enrolling in the middle school from the feeder schools, it should conduct an exit survey with fifth-grade families from the feeder schools who don't choose ND-BG.
Currently, St. John the Evangelist has 189 children enrolled in its pre-Kindergarten through fifth-grade program. St. Helen's has 190 enrolled. Mr. Baldwin said a loss of five children from each school would be devastating to the schools' budgets.
Mr. Piatek said ND-BG's goal is not to compete with other Schenectady schools, but to draw students from South Colonie and North Colonie. The school is doing a direct mail campaign to families with school-aged children in those school districts.
Other Catholic schools currently serve many children from those school districts: for example, the majority of St. Pius X School in Loudonville's 627 students come from North and South Colonie, said principal Dennis Mullahy.
Mr. Mullahy said each district transports seven to eight busloads of students to the school each day. Tuition at St. Pius, which serves children from pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade, is $4,150 per child.
(Families interested in an ND-BG elementary school program can fill out a preregistration form and make a $25 deposit by contacting Penny Agostara, director of admissions, at 393-3131, ext. 106.)[[In-content Ad]]
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