April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
Plans for Schenectady schools advancing
The 50-member team met recently at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School in Schenectady to finalize a plan that will be presented to the Diocesan School Board on Dec. 14.
The plan may be accepted or modified by the board before being sent to Bishop Howard J. Hubbard for final approval, explained Sister Mary Jane Herb, IHM, superintendent of schools for the Albany Diocese. She expects a final plan by the first of the year.
Scope of study
While Sister Jane did not release the planning committee's recommendations, she did say the group looked at the buildings and grounds, finances, enrollment, public relations and marketing, and the possible need for a middle school.Included in the options studied is the possibility of consolidation of two elementary schools and a plan to retain students at the sixth grade level in all of the schools, she said.
"We're looking towards possible consolidation which would ultimately strengthen the schools," she said.
Demonstration
That option prompted some members of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel School community to demonstrate outside of ND-BG while the committee met. Chanting "Save Our School," the 30-member group attracted local media attention.While Sister Jane was alerted to the possibility of demonstrators, she had hoped the process would have prevented this.
"What I had hoped to do was to involve people in the process," she said. "No one knows the school like the school community. We wanted to involve the school community. Everyone is afraid of decisions from the top down. I'm committed to including people."
Consultation
She explained that each school had a team of seven members that included the principal, pastor, school board members, teachers, parents and community members. Each school team was asked to be in touch with their constituent groups."That was a big piece of the process," she said. "This was set up to involve as many people as possible."
Last June, Sister Jane told The Evangelist that "the reason we went to this process is so that the people most affected are part of the decisions. It's very important to have a collaborative process. Ultimately, we're trying to strengthen Catholic education. It's important that the people there have ownership of the process."
Community alerted
The possibility of consolidating schools first appeared in The Evangelist in June. At that time, Rev. George Brucker, pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Schenectady and co-convener of the building/facility committee, said the idea of regionalizing schools was being explored."We're looking at the notion of a regional school if one region has more than one [school]," he said. "All of us value Catholic education. Whatever decision is made will be best for the children of Schenectady."
Despite the demonstration, Sister Jane said the process was beneficial. "The big thing is that the people at the schools are taking ownership," she noted. "The future of the schools is in their hands. It can't just be the job of the principal or the teachers."
One thing that is clear, she said, is the commitment that exists for Catholic schools. "There is a real priority on Catholic education in Schenectady," said Sister Jane. "People want Catholic education to continue. There's a real commitment."
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