Parish pastors and administrators of Catholic schools slated to merge or close learned details of a process to appeal the recommendations for their schools during a meeting with more than 300 personnel from affected parishes and schools Jan. 10 at the Drexelbrook Conference Center in Delaware County.
Officials from the Office of Catholic Education outlined the review process for parish and school administrators who believe the recommendation to regionalize or close their school should be reconsidered.
The meeting followed the announcement last week of the merger or closing of dozens of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, as recommended by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Catholic education.
The Archdiocese has established two review committees, one for parish elementary schools and one for high schools, to facilitate requests for review.
Pastors, elementary school principals and high school presidents seeking an appeal were asked to contact the Office of Catholic Education to request a meeting with the appropriate review committee.
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The committees consist of members of the Blue Ribbon Commission and archdiocesan administrators. Review meetings will start Jan. 12 and continue through early February.
During the meetings school representatives will review all the facts used by the Blue Ribbon Commission to reach its recommendations. Those requesting a review will also be given the opportunity to present the reasoning for their appeal along with supporting facts and documentation.
The review committees will present all information to Archbishop Charles Chaput for his consideration, after which he will make a final decision. A final listing of the schools affected is expected to be made public by mid-February.
Archdiocesan officials stressed that the decisions need to be finalized soon to give ample time to the affected communities. They need to choose a new name for the school, establish it at the recommended building site, form a new school administration, hire new faculty and staff and allow time for parents to register their children in the school all before the new term begins in September.
March 25 is the target date for newly reconfigured schools to hold open-house informational sessions for parents of prospective students at the recommended school sites.
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Who will the principals be meeting with to interview for their previously held jobs? I’d like to forward a letter to the attention of this individual/committee on the behalf of our excellent principal. Our principal was unaware as to who she would be meeting with.
Thanks you.
Regional schools changing/that change their uniforms will cost the “already hurting” catholics to spend MORE money on NEW clothing. Most schools have swap shops in them so the school coming over to the regional site should be able to view the swap shop and keep the current uniform. Please consider!. Some families have 3 or more kids in that school and it will be quite expensive. Emblem changing ONLY is my recommendation with the NEW NAME of it.
thanks for considering.
I have the following questions/comments regarding the appeals process
Step 1
no questions
Step 2
• Will the school get the data for all the schools prior to the meeting to present a full analysis? (I have requested this twice from the FaithInTheFuture website and it has not been forthcoming.
• Will the school get a copy of the Blue Ribbon Committee’s specific facts they used in making their decision prior to the meeting?
• The school should be given a chance to rebut/refute the findings of the Blue Ribbon Committee, not have the Committee members speak last.
• An independent arbitration agent should also be present – there may be facts in dispute and neither party may be experts in real estate, economics, etc.
• The independent arbitration agent should document both sides and both parties should sign-off to ensure facts were adequately represented
Step 3
• Why is the review committee solely responsible for presenting their information to the archbishop? The school president/principal/pastor (for elementary schools) should be there as well to ensure the data is presented appropriately and fairly, or at the very least the arbitration agent.