Troy schools cooperate

There are more Catholic school students at Catholic Central High School in Troy than usual this week.

On May 16, the first-ever "Troy area Catholic schools field day" is being held at CCHS. The gathering brings together Catholic school students from the city's four Catholic elementary and secondary schools -- Our Lady of Victory, Sacred Heart, St. Augustine's and Catholic High -- for a day of fun and fellowship.

Middle- and high-school students from CCHS are helping to run the games for the younger children.

Theresa Mainello, director of public relations at CCHS, said the gathering is the first of many cooperative efforts between the three Catholic elementary schools in Troy and CCHS.

"We would like to have a K-through-12 mentality," Mrs. Mainello said. "We want people to know that their children can enter a Catholic elementary school and continue through high school. We want them to see the commitment to Catholic schools in Troy."

The field day starts with a Mass at CCHS, with games and lunch to follow on the football field.

Karen Snyder, principal of Our Lady of Victory School in Troy, said the field day is a step in the right direction.

"We are creating a school system," she said.

Collaboration

While the Catholic schools in Troy may have felt they were competing against each other in the past, the leadership at the schools is now working together. "It's a new spirit," Mrs. Snyder said. "We are taking small steps in the right direction. There is so much potential."

A committee of school principals, pastors and members of the local school boards is working together to find ways that the four schools can collaborate. Mrs. Snyder said this collaborative effort grew out of the "Called To Be Church" pastoral planning process in the Albany Diocese.

In addition to creating a collaborative climate, the Troy Catholic schools also hope to work together in practical ways to utilize resources wisely. Mrs. Snyder said the schools are looking at ways to save money when purchasing supplies: for example, with four schools purchasing items like copy paper jointly, the bulk discount can be greater.

Calendar crossing

In addition to her work at CCHS, Mrs. Mainello is also a parent of children enrolled in Catholic schools in Troy. She is looking forward to the joint calendar the schools will share. This, she said, will help ensure that families aren't being pulled in multiple directions on the same day for school events or fund raisers.

The schools will also hold their back-to-school meeting together.

"We'll have our opening faculty meeting together," Mrs. Mainello added. "We'll share a guest speaker, have a Mass, and then the schools can break into their smaller groups."

(05/15/08) [[In-content Ad]]