[StBernard] First Catholic School to Reopen in St. Bernard

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Thu Feb 23 01:32:17 EST 2006



1st Catholic school set to reopen in St. Bernard

Ash Wednesday date is fitting, official says Wednesday, February 22, 2006 By
Karen Turni Bazile St. Bernard/Plaquemines bureau

The first Catholic school to reopen in St. Bernard Parish since Hurricane
Katrina will start on Ash Wednesday, a date that an archdiocesan official
called symbolic because it marks the rebirth of Catholic education for a
parish that has suffered major devastation.

The Rev. William Maestri, schools superintendent for the Archdiocese of New
Orleans, said he will give out ashes to students at an 8:30 a.m. welcoming
ceremony at Our Lady of Prompt Succor Central Catholic School on its opening
day, March 1.

"It is very symbolic to be opening on that day because it is the beginning
of Lenten season. We are moving toward the Easter season of hope and new
life, and we think it's very appropriate that we do this in St. Bernard,"
Maestri said.

The school will start small in March with only about 30 students enrolled in
prekindergarten through seventh grades, and Maestri said the school will
accept high school students next fall if there is a demand.

"I know this was frustrating for parents because we weren't able to open
until March 1," Maestri said. "Once parents begin to see that our school is
open and we are doing quality education, then I think more and more parents
will begin to enroll their children."

The school will be opening a little more than six months after Katrina
battered all five Catholic schools in the parish. Maestri said the school
also may include a summer program for the younger grades as demand warrants.


Registration for this school year will be ongoing. Registration for next
school year for prekindergarten through 12th grades and for the summer
program will be conducted March 6-10 in the school office from 8 a.m. to 3
p.m.

The school will accept children in prekindergarten through eighth grade for
this school year, and it is employing four full-time state-certified faculty
members and one part-time state-certified physical education teacher,
Maestri said.

Sharon Coll, a longtime Catholic school principal who most recently led St.
Mark School in Chalmette, will be the principal of the combined school that
will be housed on the Our Lady of Prompt Succor campus in Chalmette, which
sustained the least amount of damage of any of the schools.

St. Bernard has a history of strong enrollment in Catholic and private
schools. A 2003 U.S. Census Bureau analysis showed almost three in 10 St.
Bernard children in first through 12th grades attended private schools or
were home-schooled: more than all but nine other parishes or counties in the
United States. Jefferson Parish ranked second in the nation, and St. John
the Baptist was fifth.

More than 2,000 students attended St. Bernard Parish's five Catholic schools
during the 2004-05 school year, while public school enrollment totaled about
9,000 students.

Workers are continuing to repair and clean the Prompt Succor school, which
had about 3 feet of water during the storm.

The building that will house classes in March will be one of the main
classroom buildings, made of concrete blocks, that was stripped of its wood
cabinets and tile floors. Maestri said the school opening had to be delayed
to allow for cleaning and testing to ensure the campus is safe for students
and faculty.

For information, parents can call the school at

(504) 271-2953.

Karen Turni Bazile can be reached at kturni at timespicayune.com or (504)
352-2539.






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