狐狸视频

The high schools in 狐狸视频 city are the smallest single-sex schools in the archdiocese, with 188 girls enrolled at Rosati-Kain and 222 boys at St. Mary鈥檚 this year.

Catholic education started in the city in the 1800s to serve a booming immigrant population, but demographic trends including population loss have resulted in too many schools, Rozanski said at a news conference at the Cardinal Rigali Center a day after school leaders confirmed the closures.

At St. Mary鈥檚, 90% of students receive financial aid, 28% come from low-income families and more than half are not Catholic. Rosati-Kain did not release similar figures, but about 44 students have scholarships from the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation at the archdiocese.

Tuition is $13,500 at Rosati-Kain and $10,500 at St. Mary鈥檚, about half the cost of local independent Catholic high schools.

The schools are subsidized with grants from the archdiocese but are no longer financially viable and need to close 鈥渋n order to be good stewards of the gifts being given to us,鈥� Rozanski said.

Several supporters of St. Mary鈥檚 questioned the move to close the school with a majority Black and non-Catholic student base.

The move belies the church鈥檚 mission of social justice and evangelism, said Patricia Carosello, who taught math at St. Mary鈥檚 for close to 30 years before retiring in 2020 and sent her four sons to the school.

鈥淚sn鈥檛 this what Catholic education is supposed to be about: discipleship and teaching students about God through education?鈥� Carosello said. 鈥淚t makes me crazy. I don鈥檛 know why you鈥檙e closing an institution that鈥檚 actually doing the missionary work of the church.鈥�

The closures are the first moves in the archdiocese鈥檚 鈥淎ll Things New鈥� reorganization plan, which is expected to close dozens of parishes and grade schools when final plans are announced next year.

鈥淗aving a vibrant presence in every area of the archdiocese doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean that we maintain all the current ministries we have in all the current locations,鈥� said the Rev. Chris Martin, who is leading the process.

St. Mary鈥檚 leaders and alumni including former Mayor Francis Slay said they are looking into staying open as an independent high school.

Rozanski said Wednesday he is 鈥渙pen to any suggestions鈥� and willing to work with the schools on future plans.

It is unclear how many teachers and school staff will lose their jobs. Teachers at both schools are represented by the 狐狸视频 Archdiocesan Teachers Association. Students from Rosati-Kain and St. Mary鈥檚 protested in support of their teachers during a contract dispute earlier this year.

鈥淭he elimination of Rosati-Kain and St. Mary鈥檚 as established learning facilities is a tremendous blow to not just our cherished school communities, but to the entire 狐狸视频 area. School closures carry high social and economic costs for people across communities,鈥� the association said in a statement.

Sister Joan Andert, president emeritus of Rosati-Kain, said she was proud of the students for protesting in front of the school on Lindell Boulevard last March when classes were canceled because teachers staged a sickout.

鈥淭hey love their teachers, and they know their teachers love them. Those girls have got champions in their teachers,鈥� Andert said.

The closure announcement also sent shockwaves through the schools鈥� alumni networks. Both schools have been trusted institutions in the city for the past century, educating generations of 狐狸视频 teenagers.

鈥淚 thought it would be there forever, really,鈥� said Tim Gartner, who graduated from St. Mary鈥檚 in 1975, retired from Anheuser-Busch and still lives in south city. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to leave a hole there in Dutchtown. I don鈥檛 understand what鈥檚 behind it; I guess they have reasonings.鈥�

The Rosati-Kain class of 2020 has been counting on a makeup senior prom at their five-year reunion because theirs was forced to be canceled by COVID-19, said Orion Agnew, 20, of Florissant.

鈥淩ight now, I feel very sad. I made a lot of good memories in that school,鈥� Agnew said. 鈥淚t really is an honor to have been around those people at such a formative time in my life.鈥�

Students arriving at Rosati-Kain on Wednesday said they were stunned by the impending closure. The school held a special assembly to discuss options for transferring schools next year. The only other Catholic options for girls in the city are Cardinal-Ritter, which is just over a mile away, and Bishop DuBourg, 6.5 miles.

鈥淚 have to look for a new school and also leave a lot of my friends. We have a family here,鈥� said sophomore Keyri Arriaga, 15.

The school鈥檚 small size was appealing to families because of the individualized attention, said Alice Johnson of University City, whose daughter Amille is a junior.

As a student in the 1980s, Johnson turned down an opportunity to attend Lafayette High in Wildwood through the desegregation program because she didn鈥檛 want to uproot her education and social life.

鈥淕oing into your junior year, those are the best years of your life,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 just now coming into her own person, and everything is crashing down.鈥�

Updated at 5:25 p.m.