Christian Brothers, St. Anthony of Padua Catholic schools to merge
Students from the Christian Brothers School run near their City Park campus in 2012. Administrators announced Monday the middle school would merge with nearby St. Anthony of Padua. It faced a steep challenge complying with new Archdiocese rules that eliminate separate middle schools. (Daniel Erath)
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on August 11, 2014 at 4:47 PM, updated August 11, 2014 at 4:49 PM
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Christian Brothers School is merging with St. Anthony of Padua School, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans announced Monday. The all-boys' Christian Brothers, a grade 5-7 school affiliated with the Lasallian order, faced losing its Catholic identity if it did not comply with the archdiocese's 2013 strategic plan to eliminate stand-alone middle schools and combined middle-high schools.
Opening in the fall of 2016 as "St. Anthony of Padua: A Christian Brothers School," the merged school will be run by the Lasallian Brothers but draw on both the Lasallian tradition and St. Anthony's Dominican heritage, officials said. Conversations about a merger had been underway for 16 months.
Leaders from both schools said they were excited. Catholic schools Superintendent Jan Lancaster said the plan was "a win for Christian Brothers, a win for St. Anthony and a win for the Archdiocese of New Orleans."
As of January, 37 of the archdiocese's 80 schools did not fit its newly unified grade structure. All schools must be either pre-kindergarten through seventh grade, 8-12 or pre-k-12.
In most cases, the non-compliant schools were off by a single grade, but a few faced major changes. Among them: Holy Cross in Gentilly, a 5-12 school; St. Benedict the Moor, pre-k-4; and St. Augustine, 6-12. Holy Cross administrators announced in the spring that they would add lower grades. The plan for St. Aug is still being finalized, Lancaster said, and St. Benedict is trying to find the money to expand.
Christian Brothers was perhaps the most challenged: It would have needed to add at least six grades.
The merged school will use both campuses. Christian Brothers' City Park site will continue as an all-male middle school site; girls will attend middle school separately at St. Anthony, 4600 Canal St. The St. Anthony site also will house coeducational pre-k through fourth grades.
A single president will oversee the merged school, and each site will have a separate principal, said David Sinitiere of Christian Brothers. Ruth Angelette, St. Anthony's principal of 40 years, will be part of the leadership team in a role that has yet to be determined. St. Anthony marks its 100th anniversary next year.
Despite the continued existence of the two campuses, administrators said the merger was not a shell. "This is definitely going to be a Christian Brothers school on two different campuses," Lancaster said.
Sinitiere said that because the City Park campus could not expand, Christian Brothers was forced to be creative. The Dominican and Lasallian organizations had worked together successfully before, he said, and many posters on the two schools' walls stress the same messages.
Catholic school enrollment has been declining across the United States and took an especially sharp dip in the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina. St. Anthony lost about 60 percent of its enrollment from 1999 to 2013, according to Louisiana Department of Education data. However, Christian Brothers' enrollment increased by about one third in the same time. Lancaster said she thought the biomedical complex expanding in New Orleans will increase demand for seats in the combined school.
Opening in the fall of 2016 as "St. Anthony of Padua: A Christian Brothers School," the merged school will be run by the Lasallian Brothers but draw on both the Lasallian tradition and St. Anthony's Dominican heritage, officials said. Conversations about a merger had been underway for 16 months.
Leaders from both schools said they were excited. Catholic schools Superintendent Jan Lancaster said the plan was "a win for Christian Brothers, a win for St. Anthony and a win for the Archdiocese of New Orleans."
As of January, 37 of the archdiocese's 80 schools did not fit its newly unified grade structure. All schools must be either pre-kindergarten through seventh grade, 8-12 or pre-k-12.
In most cases, the non-compliant schools were off by a single grade, but a few faced major changes. Among them: Holy Cross in Gentilly, a 5-12 school; St. Benedict the Moor, pre-k-4; and St. Augustine, 6-12. Holy Cross administrators announced in the spring that they would add lower grades. The plan for St. Aug is still being finalized, Lancaster said, and St. Benedict is trying to find the money to expand.
Christian Brothers was perhaps the most challenged: It would have needed to add at least six grades.
The merged school will use both campuses. Christian Brothers' City Park site will continue as an all-male middle school site; girls will attend middle school separately at St. Anthony, 4600 Canal St. The St. Anthony site also will house coeducational pre-k through fourth grades.
A single president will oversee the merged school, and each site will have a separate principal, said David Sinitiere of Christian Brothers. Ruth Angelette, St. Anthony's principal of 40 years, will be part of the leadership team in a role that has yet to be determined. St. Anthony marks its 100th anniversary next year.
Despite the continued existence of the two campuses, administrators said the merger was not a shell. "This is definitely going to be a Christian Brothers school on two different campuses," Lancaster said.
Sinitiere said that because the City Park campus could not expand, Christian Brothers was forced to be creative. The Dominican and Lasallian organizations had worked together successfully before, he said, and many posters on the two schools' walls stress the same messages.
Catholic school enrollment has been declining across the United States and took an especially sharp dip in the New Orleans area after Hurricane Katrina. St. Anthony lost about 60 percent of its enrollment from 1999 to 2013, according to Louisiana Department of Education data. However, Christian Brothers' enrollment increased by about one third in the same time. Lancaster said she thought the biomedical complex expanding in New Orleans will increase demand for seats in the combined school.
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