NY Archdiocese To Let Nonprofit Run Struggling Catholic Schools

In an effort to save six struggling Catholic schools, the Archdiocese of New York has contracted an education nonprofit to run them this fall.

According to a report in The New York Daily News, the Partnership for Inner-City Education (PICE) -- which already has a history of working with Catholic schools -- will take over the finances and oversee the curriculum of the cash-strapped schools, located in the Bronx and Harlem. It marks the first time an independent organization has taken control of a NY parochial school.

“We want to have full enrollment and sustainability for the very long term,” Jill Kafka, executive director of PICE, said according to the report. “We’re really looking to have these schools alive for a long time.”

The six schools are:

• Mt Carmel-Holy Rosary, Our Lady Queen of Angels and St. Mark the Evangelist (Harlem) 
• St. Athanasius, Immaculate Conception (151st Street) and Sacred Heart (South Bronx)

PICE plans to allocate $9 million over the next five years to repair the building of the schools classroom materials, professional development for teachers, enrichment programs and other resources. The archdiocese will continue to oversee religious instruction and will retain ownership of the buildings.

In an announcement on the nonprofit's website, the following goals were laid out in regards to the group's plans for the schools:

• Provide low-income students with the academic preparation, values and life skills they will need to be successful throughout their lives. 
• Develop Catholic schools that are strong operationally and financially by maximizing enrollment, improving efficiency, rationalizing increased costs, and stabilizing revenue sources.

You can read the full story in The NY Daily News.