Independent Catholic schools form alliance

Three independent Catholic schools within the Worcester Diocese are joining forces to share resources and create new opportunities for students from pre-kindergarten through grade 12.    

Venerini Academy and Notre Dame Academy, both in Worcester, and St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury are establishing the Alliance for Independent Catholic Schools, their boards of trustees announced yesterday.

Venerini educates boys and girls in pre-kindergarten through grade 8. Notre Dame, a high school for girls, recently added grades 7 and 8. St. John’s, an all-boys high school, plans to open a seventh grade this fall, and eighth grade next year.

Each school will continue to operate autonomously, with separate administrative leadership teams, faculty, staff and boards of trustees, and will remain dedicated to their individual missions and sponsoring congregations, according to a press release.

But they will share some resources and seek to help students progress from elementary school to middle school and high school. The press release says the alliance is to create new academic, extracurricular and athletic opportunities for students, grounded in the Catholic tradition. It is to provide scholarships, mentoring, and professional development for faculty and staff.

Beginning this fall, the alliance will provide transportation between the campuses so that students from all three schools will have access to resources and facilities, including community, athletic, arts and academic spaces, the press release says. Families with students in the different schools can drop them all off at one campus, where they can get transportation to the other campuses.

In 2017, the schools first discussed the idea for the alliance, which “is grounded in a shared commitment to providing a holistic and high-performing Catholic educational experience for students throughout the entirety of their schooling,” the press release says.

It says Venerini graduates will now be eligible for preferred admissions consideration from Notre Dame and St. John’s and new scholarships will be available for them.

“A major benefit for Venerini Academy students will be regular interaction with older students from St. John’s and Notre Dame, who can serve as mentors and role models,” said Raymond Dewar, Venerini’s principal. “While something we have done informally for years, this new partnership will ensure more regular and strategic interactions. 

“In addition, by having our faculties collaborate in new ways to share insights on the overall formation of each student as they progress through our schools, we will all be able to more meaningfully address each student’s unique needs,” he said.

Among other things being considered is alignment on a curriculum designed to enhance the transition from elementary to middle and high school Catholic education, the press release says.

Faculty and staff from all three schools will get together twice a year for professional development designed to enhance understanding of children’s academic, social and spiritual development from early stages through high school, and to allow for

the development of new programming between the schools.

The Alliance for Independent Catholic Schools will be overseen by a steering committee that includes representatives from each school (the head of school/principal, a member of the faculty/staff and a trustee) and Thomas Del Prete, professor of practice and director of the Adam Institute for Urban Teaching and School Practice at Clark University who shares a deep commitment to Catholic education, the press release says. The committee will meet quarterly to explore options for further collaboration and growth.

“With the landscape of Catholic education changing around the world, this partnership allows all three schools to build on our strong foundations and extend our missions and offerings to a broader community,” said Lisa Mancini, Notre Dame’s head of school, and a member of its class of 1988 and the parent of a 2018 graduate.

“This alliance between three strong and independent Catholic schools will provide families with an option to educate their girls and boys from pre-K through grade 12 in schools with strong histories and traditions of valuing the whole child – mind, body, and soul,” said Alex Zequeira, St. John’s headmaster. “Our collaboration will bring forth the best in all of our communities in the service of young people. This is an exciting time for independent Catholic education.”