St. Bernard's community excited by Bishop's OK to privatize

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

Students at St. Bernard Central Catholic High School in Fitchburg “applauded and yelled” when their principal told them Jan. 30 that their school received approval to become a private school next year.  
“They were so happy,” said Principal Linda Anderson.
Last June she’d told them the school might not reopen in the fall, but asked them to “hold fast” and not leave, she said. They ended that assembly holding hands and praying.
Asked if they did that again last Thursday she said, “No, we were too excited.”
Bishop McManus accepted the proposed privatization of St. Bernard’s, currently a central Catholic school, Superintendent David Perda announced Jan. 30. He said the diocese does not have financial and operational responsibility for private Catholic schools, like it does for central Catholic schools.
Low enrollment had left the diocese paying St. Bernard’s deficits. Last June the diocese agreed to cover the deficit, up to $900,000, for one more year, if enrollment exceeded 100. In July, with 105 enrolled, Superintendent Perda announced that the school could stay open for the 2019-20 academic year.
A transition team has been preparing to turn St. Bernard’s into a private Catholic school beginning with the 2020-21 school year.
St. Bernard’s High School Inc. was established to operate an independent, nonprofit, Catholic school.
A new board of trustees will govern the private school, Mrs. Anderson said. The school’s primary fundraising vehicle, the Bernardian Charitable Foundation, is overseeing the “All In” fundraising campaign.
The decision to privatize St. Bernard’s came following a presentation of “a fiscally responsible business plan for the school and the announcement that the new school’s board has commitments for more than $1 million toward the $2 million goal,” the diocese said in a press release.
The agreement is to be formalized pending a memo of understanding among the various parties involved, including the new school, the diocese and St. Bernard Parish. The diocese is to lease the current campus to the school for $1 a year, with the school taking responsibility for maintenance and operational costs. Father Joseph M. Dolan, St. Bernard’s pastor and a school trustee, is to help maintain the school’s Catholic mission.        
Students can still apply for diocesan financial aid. Those supported by the Adopt-a-Student program for central Catholic schools will be assisted in accordance with its guidelines, but that program won’t accept new applicants from St. Bernard’s.
Mrs. Anderson said she thought a couple students left because of the school’s situation, and a few left for other reasons, but a seventh transfer student came Monday, bringing enrollment to 112.
“We have a … strategy … based on increased enrollment and alumni donations which will achieve a balanced budget in five years,” said Nicholas Pelletier, a trustee and the treasurer of the Bernardian Charitable Foundation.  
 “I thank God that this collaborative effort by those who wished to support St. Bernard’s will continue to provide the option … of Catholic secondary education in North Worcester County,” Bishop McManus said. “It took a significant investment of over $700,000 by the diocese during this current school year to give everyone time to develop a plan and secure donor commitments for the future.”
Mrs. Anderson said it’s been a long eight months working to keep the school open.
“It felt the whole time like we were fighting for something we believe in,” she said. “It felt like God was with us.” She recalled the saying, “Pray to God in the storm and keep rowing.”
“We did not stop rowing,” she said. “But … all the rowing in the world wouldn’t have made this happen. … It still felt like it was a gift. … And it still does. I think most rational people thought this was a futile endeavor … and rightly so. … Grace guiding us through – that’s the only part of this I totally understand.”
Karen Pelletier, chairwoman of the fundraising campaign, said she thought Bishop McManus recognizes how special the school is.
“He gave us a chance to try this … and I’m so grateful for that,” she said. Mrs. Pelletier is a 1980 St. Bernard’s graduate, a trustee and a founder of the foundation.
“The advantage to being a private high school is that we can now chart our own destiny … and ensure a higher level of collaboration between alumni, students and community leaders,” said Mr. Pelletier, her nephew.
“I’m extremely excited about the energy behind the  project,” he said. “Whenever you talk about raising $1 million or $2 million, those numbers seem really large. … The fact that we have raised $1 million shows the commitment of the alumni and the students.” Nearly half of the $1 million is in the bank, the other half in pledges, he said.
Mrs. Pelletier said she was thrilled but not really surprised by the support “because this is what Bernardians do – they come together” – with help from people not affiliated with the school.
“I don’t live in Central Massachusetts,” and was disconnected from the school “almost since I graduated” in 1990, said David Sullivan, now president of the board of trustees.
Learning how a friend in New Jersey was working to keep his own high school open, Mr. Sullivan joined the efforts for St. Bernard’s.
“I think … North Central Massachusetts needs a successful St. Bernard’s because there aren’t Catholic alternatives in the marketplace,” he said. “And we’re offering … a personal and holistic approach that isn’t available at some of the larger public schools.”
Mrs. Pelletier said she thinks Fitchburg is struggling to revive itself, and St. Bernard’s provides “an educational choice,” a place where students are expected to be thoughtful and respectful.
Mr. Pelletier expressed excitement about the school collaborating with such places as the art museum and St. Bernard Elementary School.
The high school’s enrollment is low, but there is a strong and successful alumni base to provide support, Mr. Sullivan said.
There are about 8,000 living alumni “we are aware of,” 150-200 of whom have given time or money, Mr. Pelletier said.
“In the next phase of our campaign … we’ll be reaching more broadly to the greater alumni base,” he said. “We’re just finishing the leadership phase.”
Their strategy for increasing enrollment is to foster better relationships with elementary schools and “advance our academic offerings to exceed those of our competition,” Mr. Pelletier said.
St. Bernard’s biggest competition is Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School in Fitchburg, Mrs. Anderson said. That tells her that parents want their children to prepare for adulthood, but not necessarily with college, given the expense.
St. Bernard’s will remain a college prep school, and next fall will start three specialized tracks – business, engineering and health science – to prepare students for those fields in college and beyond. Juniors will do an internship in their track, or, if not in a track, a field of their choice.
The primary motivator for students to stay at St. Bernard’s is the experience of community they have there, Mrs. Anderson said.
“They need disciplined minds,” she said. “They’re not going to get that with just fun learning. … Learning should be fun, but it’s also hard. …
“It’s hard to be an adult. … We’re preparing them to be good human beings. I think that’s the purpose of Catholic education. Whether they’re Catholic or not, we want them to go out and live the message of Christ, which requires a degree of thoughtfulness and discipline and responsibility. Education is a fantastic stepping stone to that.”
People from farther away are expressing interest in St. Bernard’s, and locals are viewing it differently, Mr. Pelletier said.
“The transition has started to change the narrative,” he said. “People in the local community are no longer talking about when St. Bernard’s is going to close. … People are talking about what St. Bernard’s is going to accomplish.”
“I think we took for granted that we would always be here, because we’ve always been here,” said Mrs. Anderson, who started teaching there in 2010. She said she hopes to leave a legacy of continuing to build on what they have.
“St. Bernard’s has always been special to me,” she said. “It’s not just the people. There’s … a spirit of generosity and hope. … That’s worth fighting for.”