Students, parents, alumnae and supporters of Rosati-Kain High School in ºüÀêÊÓƵ rallied in front of the school Sunday afternoon to ask the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Archdiocese and the community for support after the archdiocese announced it would close at the end of the school year.
“R-K needs to stay!†the group chanted and cheered as passers-by honked in support.
Last week, the archdiocese announced the closure of the all-girls Catholic school and the all-boys St. Mary’s High School, citing declining income and enrollment. Breaking away from the archdiocese and becoming private Catholic schools could keep them open, say supporters.
“In no way is this the end,†St. Mary’s President Mike England said in a social media post last week. “This is nothing but a new beginning for the future of St. Mary’s high school.â€
Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski said Wednesday he is “open to any suggestions†and willing to work with the schools. The schools are subsidized with grants from the archdiocese but are no longer financially viable, he said.
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The ºüÀêÊÓƵ city schools are the smallest single-sex schools in the archdiocese, with 188 girls enrolled at Rosati-Kain and 222 boys at St. Mary’s this year.
The rally at Rosati-Kain Sunday was timed to catch Rozanski after he left the Cathedral Basilica of ºüÀêÊÓƵ next door after Mass and before he entered the Rosati-Kain building for a meeting unrelated to the closure. Rozanski stopped briefly to say a prayer with the crowd.
“This is my home, and I don’t want it to go away,†said Vanessa Kleen, 16, a junior at the school. “I love Rosati and this is my family and I don’t want to lose that. I should be worrying about where I’m going to college, not where I’m going to high school next.â€
Alex Bardgett, 15, a sophomore, wondered if race had to do with the decision. Bardgett, who is white, chose the school for the diversity. In 1947, the school became the first in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ area to integrate.
“Hopefully, even if this does little to nothing, everybody knows that we are angry and that this is not right and just,†she said.
“I don’t think there is a school out there that does what Rosati does,†said Ana Vendrusculo, 16, a sophomore who came here from Brazil in January.
“We really embody diversity in so many different ways,†said Kate Rowley, a parent and organizer of the rally, adding that the school supports LGBTQ students. “I just don’t think it there are too many places like that in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. I think it will be hard for the girls to find a school that fits them because that’s so unique.â€
Supporters hoped the school could come up with a solution: break away and become private, stay open long enough for current students to end their time there, or join forces with other schools.
Parent Gina Zelenka attended the rally with her daughter, Audrey, 16, a junior. They pointed out that the current junior class had its eighth grade year cut short by the pandemic, and this year has seemed like the only “normal†year without disruptions.
“They got robbed of eighth grade, and here their senior year is going to possibly be at a new school for one year,†said Zelenka.
Darren Vehlewald is the father of student Gabby, 17, a senior, and president of the DORKS, the Dads of Rosati Kain Students. He said people had thought the school would merge with other schools, but the announcement of the closure came as a shock.
He wants the school to ask the archdiocese for an extension so it has more time to come up with a plan.
“If we’re doing nothing, they’ll do nothing,†he said of the archdiocese. “Now we’re kind of at a deadline.â€