Despite financial difficulties, administrators hopeful for the future of St. Bernadette

By Bill Doyle
CFP Correspondent

NORTHBOROUGH – St. Bernadette School is dealing with financial difficulties caused by a drop in enrollment, but Father Ronald G. Falco, pastor at St. Bernadette Parish, remains optimistic about the future of the school.

“We’re looking forward to a good school year,” Father Falco said during an interview at the parish school. “We feel we’re moving in the right direction and doing what was necessary so we could have a really stable school, a really viable school.”

Principal Mary Anne Jezierski said on Aug. 21 that enrollment was nearly the same as last year, in the low to mid 300s, but that’s well down from a peak of 550 many years ago. The school was still conducting tours for prospective students so that number was expected to grow. The school conducts 21 classes for students in grade pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

There is one pre-K class for 3-year-old children, one for 4-year-olds and a transition to kindergarten class for 5-year-olds, as well as two classes each for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. There are wait lists for early grades and the sixth grade.

“We’ve been drawing a lot from local middle schools,” Ms. Jezierski said, “from public middle schools, because they believe in our mission, in our foundation and what we teach our children, not just in the classrooms.”

“We just don’t impart knowledge,” Father Falco said. “You can get that anywhere, but what we do here is also form little hearts and minds in the ways and the values of God, the ways of the Gospel because they’re going to influence and impact society. So what we do here is formation as well as education and that makes us unique.”

Despite the enrollment challenges, there is reason for hope. To accommodate increased interest, the school plans to add a second pre-K class for 3-year-olds.

Father Falco decided the school needed only one administrative leader and promoted Ms. Jezierski from assistant principal to replace Deborah O’Neil as principal. Father Falco said a team composed of administrative staff and himself would assist Ms. Jezierski.

No teachers or staff were laid off, but some retired or moved and others were hired. The school now has 39 teachers, four fewer than last year, so a few positions were consolidated.
During the height of the pandemic, parental involvement dropped off, but Ms. Jezierski said parents have recently asked how they can help more. The school plans to seek parental assistance in boosting fundraising and enrollment. The school also hopes to start a tuition assistance fund and an alumni association to help in those areas.

Father Falco said he’s committed to the future of St. Bernadette School and he is among those who have already donated to the school.

Anyone interested in making a donation can call Ms. Jezierski at the school at 508-351-9905 or write out a check to St. Bernadette School and mail it to St. Bernadette School, 266 Main St., Northborough, MA, 01532.

The school’s website lists tuition for this school year for grades K-8 as $8,950 for the first child, $8,600 for the first sibling and $8,300 for each other sibling. Tuition for preschool ranges from $3,220 to $12,320 depending on age and the number of days enrolled each week.

Father Falco said the school does its best to keep the cost to attend St. Bernadette School as affordable as possible and that rates have increased only about $100 over last year.
“We don’t want to price ourselves out of existence,” he said.

Father Falco said St. Bernadette School has worked with David Perda, Superintendent of Schools for the Worcester Diocese, and the diocese’s Office of Fiscal Affairs on restructuring the budget.

“We’re here to stay and we did what we needed to do,” Father Falco said. “We contacted the right people to help us look at ourselves.”

Human Resources Director Rebecca Gordon and Parish Liaison Officer Stephen Sycks have been especially helpful.

“It’s been a challenge,” Father Falco said, “but we embrace the challenge.”

St. Bernadette School has students from 37 communities, from as far away as Thompson, Conn., and all the way to the New Hampshire border.

Father Falco stressed that St. Bernadette School is a Catholic school that preaches the teachings of Jesus Christ, but it is also multi-cultural and multi-religious. In addition to Catholic students, some are Protestant, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim or Sikh. Students from Brazilian, Asian and Spanish speaking families attend the school.

Ms. Jezierski said the school conducts several religious fairs each year.

Father Falco and Ms. Jezierski are proud of the fact that St. Bernadette School integrated its Science, Technology, Engineering and Math after-school club into its regular curriculum two years ago.

St. Bernadette School opened in 1996 with 25 students in preschool and daycare. The following year, kindergarten through third grade were added, boosting enrollment to 106. The school eventually grew to pre-K through eighth grade.

Mrs. O’Neil served as principal for 20 years. In 2019, she received the Lead, Learn, Proclaim Award from the National Catholic Educational Association. Ms. Jezierski received it the year before.

“When Deb O’Neil said something, people listened,” Mr. Perda said. “She had a lot of experience and a lot of success.”

In 2014, Mrs. O’Neil was instrumental in St. Bernadette becoming the only Catholic school in New England to be recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School for academic excellence by the U.S. Department of Education.

Ms. Jezierski has worked at St. Bernadette School for 23 years as teacher, technology director and assistant principal.

“St. Bernadette took such pride in being a Blue Ribbon school,” Mrs. Gordon said, “but it changes and you can’t rest on your laurels and they’re really moving forward to embrace the fact that it’s time to have that new, innovative look at things. So it’s exciting and it seems like Mary Anne and the teachers are excited. Deb did an incredible job getting them to be that Blue Ribbon school, but now it seems like Mary Anne is really excited to embrace, ‘What do we do now and how do we change to get back to that same level of execution?’ So I think it’s going to be an exciting change for St. Bernadette.”

Natalie Gonzalez left as the parish’s and school’s financial coordinator last spring so Mrs. Gordon assumed some of her responsibilities.

Mr. Perda realizes that families must determine how to afford to send their children to elementary school, high school and college.

“There’s a great strain on families today,” Mr. Perda said. “There are so many families that I talk to who are working so hard to go without vacations or go without some of the luxuries in life so they can give the gift of Catholic education.”

Enrollment in many Catholic schools rose during the height of the pandemic because they remained open while public schools offered remote learning.

Some students also transferred to St. Bernadette after Immaculate Conception School in nearby Marlborough closed in the spring of 2020.

“I’m encouraged for the future,” Mr. Perda said. “It’s still a great school and it’s just a little bit smaller than it used to be and we’ve got to turn the page and create the next chapter of the beautiful story of St. Bernadette School.”
beautiful story of St. Bernadette School.”