MEDIA ADVISORY
Most Reverend Joseph A. Galante, Bishop of Camden, will announce decisions designed to strengthen and revitalize Catholic schools in six counties of the Diocese of Camden: Thursday, November 29, 2007 2:00 PM Diocesan Center, 3rd Floor 631 Market Street Camden NJ 08102
The diocese, which is home to 47 elementary schools, is undertaking the initiative in response to changing demographics and shifting populations, both of which have resulted in enrollment declines for some schools.
The decisions Thursday will involve schools in nine clusters (see next page) which consist of 35 elementary schools. The decisions will be effective with the start of the 2008-09 school year.
Decisions regarding four other clusters of 17 schools were announced last February and were implemented at the start of the 2007-08 school year.
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The Diocese of Camden, which was established in 1937, serves more than 500,000 Catholics in Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties. For more information about the school planning initiative, see http://www.faithinthefuture.org/.
To facilitate school planning, each school in the diocese was assigned to a group or “cluster” based on geographic location and the community of school families and students living in each area. In cases where there are great distances within a cluster, the cluster was further subdivided. Three to five persons-including pastors from sending parishes, principals, and other lay leaders from each school in the group-formed a Cluster Steering Committee. Each steering committee member reviewed enrollment/demographic and financial data for each school in the respective cluster in order to prepare planning recommendations which were made to the Diocese earlier this fall. The announcement November 29 will result in planning decisions for the following clusters:
CLUSTER 1:
St. Cecilia, Pennsauken
Holy Name, Camden
St. Joseph Pro-Cathedral, Camden
St. Anthony of Padua, Camden
Sacred Heart, Camden
CLUSTER 2a:
St. John, Collingswood
Holy Saviour, Westmont
Christ the King, Haddonfield
St. Rose of Lima, Haddon Heights
CLUSTER 2b:
Queen of Heaven, Cherry Hill
St. Peter Celestine, Cherry Hill
St. Peter, Merchantville
St. Stephen, Pennsauken
CLUSTER 3:
St. Francis de Sales, Barrington
St. Teresa, Runnemede
Annunciation, Bellmawr
St. Mary, Gloucester
CLUSTER 4:
Our Lady of Grace-Holy Rosary, Somerdale
St. Luke, Stratford
St. Lawrence, Lindenwold
CLUSTER 5:
St. Agnes, Blackwood
St. Jude, Blackwood
St. Mary, Williamstown
CLUSTER 6:
Assumption, Atco
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Berlin
St. Joseph, Hammonton
CLUSTER 8:
St. Bridget, Glassboro
St. Catherine of Siena, Clayton
Guardian Angels, Gibbstown
Bishop Guilfoyle, Carney’s Point
CLUSTER 11:
St. Augustine, Ocean City
St. Joseph, Somers Point
Blessed Sacrament, Margate
St. James, Ventnor
Our Lady Star of the Sea, Atlantic City
Clusters in which decisions were announced February 6, 2007. These decisions were effective with the start of the 2007-08 school year:
CLUSTER 7:
St. Matthew, Verga
Most Holy Redeemer, Westville Grove
St. Patrick, Woodbury
St. Margaret, Woodbury Heights
In February, Bishop Galante announced that Most Holy Redeemer School, Westville Grove, St. Patrick School, Woodbury and St. Matthew School, National Park, would consolidate into a new school at the Westville Grove campus for the start of the 2007-2008 school year. As part of the process of consolidation, the school took on a new name: Holy Trinity Regional School.
CLUSTER 9:
Notre Dame Regional, Newfield
Sacred Heart Regional, Vineland
St. Francis of Assisi, Vineland
St. Mary, East Vineland
St. Mary Magdalen, Millville
Immaculate Conception, Bridgeton
In February, Bishop Galante announced that St. Francis of Assisi, Vineland and Sacred Heart/St. Isidore, Vineland would consolidate into a new school at the Sacred Heart campus for the start of the 2007-2008 school year. As part of the process of consolidation, the school took on a new name: Bishop Schad Regional Elementary School. Bishop also announced that Immaculate Conception would close at the end of the 2006-7 school year, with Our Lady of Guadalupe Regional School opening at the Bridgeton site with the start of the 2007-08 school year.
CLUSTER 10:
St. Raymond, Villas
Our Lady Star of the Sea, Cape May
St. Ann, Wildwood
Bishop McHugh, Dennis Township
In February, Bishop Galante announced that he had accepted the recommendation of the Cluster 10 steering committee to consolidate St. Raymond, Villas, and Our Lady Star of the Sea, Cape May at Our Lady Star of the Sea, which is now known as Our Lady Star of the Sea Regional School.
CLUSTER 12:
Assumption, Pomona
St. Nicholas, Egg Harbor City
St. Vincent de Paul, Mays Landing
In February, Bishop announced that it would be necessary to close St. Nicholas school at the end of the 2006-2007 school year. The school subsequently opened in September as a private elementary school. Meanwhile, Assumption Regional School, a new elementary school, opened in September.