Press Releases
Salem's Only Catholic School on Rebound
By Tom Dalton, Staff Writer, The Salem News
September 5, 2007
Salem, MA – Just about everybody at St. Joseph School has one eye on
this week's school opening and the other on the SJS
Polar Express, a major fundraiser this fall.
On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, hundreds of children and parents will board
a seven-car train at Salem Station for a ride to Rockport. The train will be
staffed by elves, and the station in Rockport will be decorated like the North
Pole, all to convince the little passengers that they are making the same magical
journey as the children in "The Polar Express" book and movie.
The parallels between this Christmas fantasy and the real-life ride being taken
by St. Joseph School are not lost on the school staff.
"We're sort of going through that ourselves - getting people to believe
in us," Principal LouAnn Melino said.
The city's last Catholic school, which suffered a hard blow when St. Joseph Parish
closed three years ago, is still struggling to get back on its feet. Enrollment
plummeted to below 150 two years ago, with only a handful of children in the
lowest grades, but is slowly and steadily rising.
"We are very encouraged by the progress that is occurring," said Terrence
Donilon, a spokesman for Cardinal Sean O'Malley.
St. Joseph begins a new school year today with an estimated 185 students - a
25 percent increase from the close of school in 2006. That's a dramatic jump
for a school that was uprooted from its former parish and replanted across town
in St. James Parish on historic Federal Street.
The increase was accomplished in several ways. First, the school added a prekindergarten
class for 3-year-olds to complement its class for 4-year-olds. That brought 10
new students.
The major infusion, though, came from the 30 scholarships it granted through
the Lynch Foundation, a charity established by Marblehead millionaire Peter Lynch,
a longtime supporter of Catholic schools. All of the scholarships have been awarded,
each an annual tuition assistance grant of $2,000 for as long as a student is
enrolled at St. Joseph.
The Lynch Foundation also has pledged $120,000 for capital improvements, some
of which will be used for a new science laboratory and a gym floor.
"I think they've done remarkably ... in comparison to where they started
18 months ago," said Katie Everett, executive director of the Lynch Foundation. "We're
very proud."
The journey for St. Joseph, however, is hardly over. While it is no longer on
life support, it is an elementary school on the rebound in the Archdiocese of
Boston, which has closed 27 elementary schools in the last five years. Most
of those closures and mergers, however, took place in Boston or in other large
urban areas.
St. Joseph, officials say, must continue to grow to survive; it needs to build
enrollment to more than 250 and must create a stronger financial base.
And it needs to come up with a few answers - how, for example, will it replace
at least some of the largesse of the Lynch Foundation?
"That's a good question," Melino said.
But they are making plans.
"One of our big goals for the coming year is to build a (school) foundation," Sheridan
said. They hope to recruit not only St. Joseph graduates, but alumni from other
Catholic schools in Salem that closed years ago, with an eye toward holding reunions
and other celebrations.
"Our goal is, eventually, once we've leveled off and get enrollment to where
we want it, to have a percentage of fundraising go toward an endowment fund," said
Mona Nadeau, the director of development.
In what hardly seems a coincidence, two members of the board of the Lynch Foundation
now sit on the finance and development committees at St. Joseph.
"There has been an entire sea change," Sheridan said. "We're raising
money not just to keep going, but to plan for the future."
NORTH SHORE CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
Figures indicate: 1) School Enrollment 2) Tuition (in parish/out of
parish)* 3) Increase over last year
Beverly
St. Mary Star of the Sea: 175, $3,950/$4,225, $250
St. John the Evangelist: 245, $4,270/$4,750, $300/$110
Danvers
St. Mary of the Annunciation: 470, $4,650/$4,990, $575/$450
Peabody
St. John the Baptist: 495, $2,800/$3,550, $200
Salem
St. Joseph: 185, $3,550/$3,750, $250
HIGH SCHOOLS
Danvers
St. John's Prep: 1,250, $15,400, $850
Peabody
Bishop Fenwick: 660, $9,500, $1,000
* In some cases, in parish tuition applies to families in all parishes in that
town or city.
Original article
http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_248120401
