Closing of the school
title:
Closing of the school
publisher:
Women and Leadership Archives
creator:
A Lerner Newspaper
date:
1981
description:
Parents fight to keep Immaculata open. March 1, 1981.
format:
8.5 x 11"
subject:
women's education; high schools; articles;
relation:
Immaculata High School
description:
Closing of the School, 1978-1981
type:
articles;
rights:
This image is issued by the Women and Leadership Archives. Use of the image requires written permission from the Director of the Women and Leadership Archives. It may not be sold or redistributed, copied or distributed as a photograph, electronic file, or any other media. The image should not be significantly altered through conventional or electronic means. Images altered beyond standard cropping and resizing require further negotiation with the Director. The user is responsible for all issues of copyright. Please Credit: Women and Leadership Archives, Loyola University Chicago.
coverage:
Chicago, Illinois; Immaculata High School
description:
A LERNER NEWSPAPER, MARCH 1, 1981 Immaculata's prospects look dim By EMILY SOLOFF Staff Writer A 60-YEAR MISSION to educate Catholic girls will end in June unless students, parents and alumnae can convince the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (B.V.M.) to keep Immaculata High School, 640 W. Irving Park Rd., open. But the prospect of keeping the school open under B.V.M. sponsorship seemed remote to some parents after meeting with school and B.V.M. administrators Sunday, Feb. 22. Declining enrollment and decreasing numbers of nuns available to teach in the school were cited as the main reasons the school would close. The school also has a $115,000 operating deficit. More than 400 parents, students and alumnae packed the school auditorium to hear the administrators explain their decision to close the school. That decision was revealed to parents and the 508 students on Feb. 10, but B.V.M. administrators said the or- derhas been considering the possibility of closing the school since enrollment began to decline from a high of more than 1,300 ten years ago. In an earlier meeting Feb. 19 which sometimes boardered on turning into a pep rally, some500 parents, students and alumnae—many wearing "Help Save Immaculata High School" buttons —crowded the auditorium and milled in the halls attempting to find out why the school was closing. That meeting was chaired by Charles Werner, a Lincoln Park resident and father of a junior at the school. Questions and suggestions for saving the school were collected and submitted to the principal, Sister Diane, on Saturday, Feb. 21. Many of the suggestions had to do with increasing fund raising at the school to wipe out the deficit and provide scholarship funds for an incrase in tuition. "The kids are sick about this," said Lynn Werner, mother of a junior and wife of the meeting chairman. "They've been crying for days. They feel like displaced persons." AN AD HOC group of parents and alumnae, calling itself the Immaculata Action Committee and chaired by Werner, is meeting with the school administration Wednesday, Feb. 25, to present options for keeping the school open. "We absolutely disagree with the decision," Werner said. "The problem of declining enrollment is a function of not getting their message out. There is no shortage of students at some of the other fine Catholic schools in Chicago." During the Feb. 22 meeting, admin istrators outlined their efforts to increase enrollment over the last few years. The school has distributed brochures, had open houses and asked to make presentations at elementary schools. Of the 309 8th graders who visited the school last year, only 71 were expected to enroll despite followup letters and postcards. The school's projections for the 1981-82 academic year indicate enrollment declining to 416 if the school stays open. PARENTS'SUGGESTIONS that the school could raise the $865 annual tuition by $£50 to $300 per year to wipe, out the deficit were rebuffed by the ad-' ministration which said such an increase would further erode enrollment figures. "The administration has undersold itself," said Werner. "We haye a quality product in the education here."
identifier:
40.jp2