Two counties planning for schools' future

During the past school year, teams of administrators, teachers, parents and parishioners have been meeting to look at the challenges and opportunities facing Catholic schools in those two areas of the Diocese. The configuration of the schools, finances, facilities, demographics, marketing and recruitment have been the focus for the planning teams.

Approximately 50 people are on the planning team for Schenectady and 21 for East Greenbush/Rensselaer.

Collaboration

The local planning teams are a result of last year's long-range planning process conducted by Sister Jane and the Diocesan School Board.

That process involved between 300 and 400 Catholic school constituents, with the end result being belief, mission and vision statements to guide the schools into the future.

Middle school?

"We don't have the sixth grade population to support teacher salaries," said Ninette Kondratowicz, principal of Our Lady of Mount Carmel School and convener of the middle school transition committee.

Ideas that have surfaced include returning the seventh- and eighth-grade program to the parish schools from Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School; creating a separate Catholic middle school, which would also remove the seventh and eighth grade from ND-BG; or moving the sixth grade to ND-BG.

Sifting the options

The most attractive possibility is moving the sixth grade to ND-BG. "They have a program in place," she said. "We'll look toward ND-BG as a possibility."

Parents of students in grades two through eight will be surveyed, principals and pastors will be involved as will ND-BG. "At some point, ND-BG needs to be part of the conversation," Sister Jane said. "ND-BG needs to be an important part of the conversation."

Mrs. Kondratowicz said it is important that all have the opportunity to continue their education at the middle school level. "Our mission is the same," she said. "We can't price ourselves out of existence."

Grading the grades

"We're looking at the notion of a regional school if one region has more than one [school]," he said.

His committee is evaluating the facilities of the schools in Schenectady. Overall space, room for specialized study, gymnasiums, faculty rooms and playgrounds are all being looked at. Ideally, he said, the schools could find ways to work more efficiently together with each school continuing to operate.

"I'm not sure it will be possible," he said. "All of us value Catholic education. Whatever decision is made will be best for the children of Schenectady."

Reacting to reality

"In many of the schools in the Diocese, the percentage of parishioners [enrolled] has decreased," she said. "Neighborhood schools don't exist anymore. It's rare to have a school [enrollment] with 90 percent parishioners. The majority are Catholic, but they're not necessarily from the parish. We need to better reflect the current situation and strengthen the schools."

Some involved in the process are not ruling out changes that will allow all of the schools to remain in operation. Stephen Grifferty, a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist and convener of the finances committee, said regionalizing some of the business practices of the schools and coordinating other efforts could strengthen the schools without having to eliminate any of them.

"We'd like to see what can genuinely benefit Catholic education and make all of the schools stronger," he said.

Working together

The marketing/recruitment and demographics committee is also looking at collaborative efforts, like joint recruitment and marketing campaigns, said Marjorie Edgar, convener of this committee and principal of Immaculate Conception School.

The committee is also looking at the demographic trends in the county. Enrollment in the Catholic elementary schools was 1,511 in 1991/92. It grew to 1,701 in 1995/96. This year, enrollment was 1,514.

Change ahead

While there are fears associated with change, however, those involved in the process are pleased.

"The process involves the grass roots," Mrs. Kondratowicz said. "Everybody is heard, and there is ownership. What a parent sees, a teacher doesn't. What a pastor sees is not what a teacher sees."

"I'm very pleased that it's been left up to Schenectady to make the decisions," Father Brucker said.

Sister Jane said it is important to have a process in place. "If this process were not in place, some schools could not sustain themselves for the future," she said. "Children in those areas wouldn't have options. They wouldn't be able to choose Catholic education, and we probably wouldn't be meeting the needs. This process enables us to meet the needs."

(06-10-99) [[In-content Ad]]