jafo
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Post by jafo on Apr 21, 2017 15:33:41 GMT -5
Officials with St. Wendelin Catholic Schools announced this afternoon that St. Wendelin High School plans to close.
Melissa Kelbley, communications specialist with St. Wendelin, confirmed the closure this afternoon, saying an official statement would be released at 5 p.m.
We will update this story as more information is provided.
This is from the Courier website.
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jafo
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Post by jafo on Apr 21, 2017 15:35:36 GMT -5
More info from the Courier:
St. Wendelin High School in Fostoria will close June 30, the parish said in a statement Friday.
“In reviewing St. Wendelin’s parish finances, current and projected school enrollment numbers, fundraising efforts and capital expenditure needs for both the parish and school, (the St. Wendelin Parish Finance Council, the St. Wendelin Catholic Schools Education Foundation Board, parish and school administration and Diocesan officials) recommended that the closure is the only course of action that is prudent, fair and responsible for the St. Wendelin parish family,” the statement said.”Bishop Daniel E. Thomas has accepted their recommendation. Keeping the high school open would drain all the financial reserves of the parish, leaving it in a deficit position.”
St. Wendelin Catholic School, which serves kindergarten through 8th grade, will remain open, as will the parish.
“We deeply regret having to make this decision; however, we are convinced that it is the right decision, given the present circumstances and future projections,” a statement from parish leadership said. “We know there will be many questions and needs during this transition time; we will do our best to assist all. We are grateful to God for the many years that we have been able to serve Him in our parish through our Catholic high school. We give thanks for our families, students, faculty, staff, and benefactors. We look forward with optimism that God is with us in this next chapter of Catholic education at St. Wendelin.”
Parish and school administrators will be working closely with Calvert Catholic Schools in Tiffin and St. Joseph Central Catholic School in Fremont to transition students currently in grades 8 through 11.
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Post by sportsjock on Apr 21, 2017 16:03:50 GMT -5
St. Michael the Archangel parish in Findlay may very well, put in motion, plans for a St. Michael High School. I'm pretty sure they still own a significant amount of land off the county rd. extension of Bright Rd. and directly south of Brinkman's Market.
There was much talk of establishing a high school as an extension of the current St. Michael school that goes from K through 8. My guess, out of respect for St. Wendelin, who has educated many Findlay area students over the years, plans were quelled.
With a population of 10,000 parishioners and a natural draw from area communities, I can envision a strong case for such an effort.
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Post by kingmartinez on Apr 21, 2017 17:37:23 GMT -5
Boy, Findlay St Mike's would make for an interesting addition to the area. Hard to believe there isn't a catholic HS in Findlay but understand the hold off because of St Wendy. That move would make a lot of sense and cents.
How many students do you think they would have, once established? What league options would be available?
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Post by sportsjock on Apr 21, 2017 18:45:09 GMT -5
Boy, Findlay St Mike's would make for an interesting addition to the area. Hard to believe there isn't a catholic HS in Findlay but understand the hold off because of St Wendy. That move would make a lot of sense and cents. How many students do you think they would have, once established? What league options would be available? St. Mike's has 525 students in their grade school system and growing. First things first, sports is a long ways off....lol Constructing and establishing a new high school would be a major undertaking. My suspicions tell me, they have had a plan in place for any eventuality. The local parish is in great financial position for an undertaking of this magnitude. I know the new church on Bright Rd. is paid off and pretty sure the school buildings are as well.
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Post by kingmartinez on Apr 21, 2017 19:41:08 GMT -5
525 in K-8? That's about 60 kids/class. 30 boys/girls each (approx). Would have thought they'd be bigger. Good size for BVC. Similar to Hopewell.
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Post by sportsjock on Apr 22, 2017 7:37:22 GMT -5
Let me correct myself, the actual number is 586 students. The key word is 'growing', as is St. Michael the Apostle Catholic Church. It is unusual to see a robustly growing community like Findlay only having one central high school, but it has served them well over the years. Along with that growth, demographics have changed as well. The Catholic community was relatively small compared to other cities of it's size, but the church has grown dramatically the past 3-4 decades, necessitating a major expansion beyond the original cathedral and grade school on W. Main Cross.
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Post by Observer on Apr 22, 2017 12:43:10 GMT -5
The correct name is St. Michael the Archangel. There was no apostle named Michael. And I didn't know that the church on W. Main Cross was a cathedral. The rest of your post was very interesting. Thanks for posting.
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Post by sportsjock on Apr 22, 2017 13:01:54 GMT -5
The correct name is St. Michael the Archangel. There was no apostle named Michael. And I didn't know that the church on W. Main Cross was a cathedral. The rest of your post was very interesting. Thanks for posting. Thanks for mentioning my error. My brain was on pause, I belong to St. Peter & Paul the Apostles in Florida, so I didn't even realize what I was typing. I am a St. Michael the Archangel parishioner....so shame on me....lol You are correct, the 'downtown church', or 'old church' is not a cathedral by any means, it's such a beautiful and historic church, that I use it as a personal reference to give it's due respect. I think the closest actual cathedral is Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral in Toledo and the only cathedral in northwest Ohio, I believe.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2017 13:15:29 GMT -5
St. Michael's has 10,000 parishioners? Wow
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Post by sportsjock on Apr 22, 2017 15:54:47 GMT -5
Not sure how St. Mike's stacks up in the size pecking order of the 124 parishes in 19 counties, under the Toledo Diocese.
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Hagen
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Post by Hagen on Apr 24, 2017 8:13:29 GMT -5
525 in K-8? That's about 60 kids/class. 30 boys/girls each (approx). Would have thought they'd be bigger. Good size for BVC. Similar to Hopewell. That would surely go up with St. Wendelin closing as a large portion of its enrollment is from Findlay. If/when St. Mike's goes 9-12, I'm guessing St. Wendelin will close K-8 (my guess is they're keeping that open to soften the blow). Also, I'm sure there would be some Liberty-Benton & area students who would attend St. Mike's, but haven't St. Wendelin, because of location. You'd lose some students to Tiffin and Fremont, but I think St. Mike's would be bigger than St. Wendelin. It would be a good BVC fit.
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Post by sportsjock on Apr 24, 2017 13:04:16 GMT -5
525 in K-8? That's about 60 kids/class. 30 boys/girls each (approx). Would have thought they'd be bigger. Good size for BVC. Similar to Hopewell. That would surely go up with St. Wendelin closing as a large portion of its enrollment is from Findlay. If/when St. Mike's goes 9-12, I'm guessing St. Wendelin will close K-8 (my guess is they're keeping that open to soften the blow). Also, I'm sure there would be some Liberty-Benton & area students who would attend St. Mike's, but haven't St. Wendelin, because of location. You'd lose some students to Tiffin and Fremont, but I think St. Mike's would be bigger than St. Wendelin. It would be a good BVC fit. Again, that number is 586 students. I would love to be the fly on the wall at some of the school board committee meetings. It's going to be very interesting what transpires in the coming years. Not sure what the state of the St. Wendelin grade school system is at the moment. The high school facility is way larger than what's necessary to meet their needs.
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Post by fossywriter8 on Apr 29, 2017 19:06:16 GMT -5
St. Wendelin will move its K-8 back to its old elementary school across the street from the church.
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Post by sportsjock on Apr 29, 2017 22:20:55 GMT -5
St. Wendelin will move its K-8 back to its old elementary school across the street from the church. Thanks for the info, I am presently far removed from things and not privy to what has been going on. Any thoughts on what is in store for the high school building? Good thing they didn't follow through with plans to raze the grade school building a few years back.
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Post by fossywriter8 on May 1, 2017 22:42:13 GMT -5
Just a thought, but if St. Mike's has enough money to build a high school, then maybe they should have thought about sending more kids and money to St. Wendelin.
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Post by sportsjock on May 1, 2017 23:43:56 GMT -5
Just a thought, but if St. Mike's has enough money to build a high school, then maybe they should have thought about sending more kids and money to St. Wendelin. I can assure you, St. Michael parish was very involved with promotional efforts of continuing the education process to St. Wendelin High School. The church bulletin has a minimum one page and quite often two pages dedicated to St. Michael and St. Wendelin Catholic schools activities. Ultimately, it becomes a parental and family decision. I'm with you, it puzzles me why there wasn't a more robust flow of students from a natural feeder pipeline. The high quality of education, the staff and administration, coupled with the most reasonable tuition in the Toledo Diocese should have guaranteed success.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2017 7:07:53 GMT -5
Freshman and most sophomores need rides. A 20 minute drive everyday can be problematic for parents. Plus high schoolers driving that everyday isn't ideal.
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Post by sportsjock on May 2, 2017 10:06:49 GMT -5
Freshman and most sophomores need rides. A 20 minute drive everyday can be problematic for parents. Plus high schoolers driving that everyday isn't ideal. Very true...... On the other hand, I know of Findlay students, present and past attending St. Ursula Academy, Notre Dame Academy and St. Johns Jesuit in Toledo.....now that's travel time.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2017 13:21:54 GMT -5
Freshman and most sophomores need rides. A 20 minute drive everyday can be problematic for parents. Plus high schoolers driving that everyday isn't ideal. Is it unreal for such a school to employ a bus service to make a run from town to town to offer safe travel for its students? Does anyone else think it is wasteful to close one school to build another because parents want it?
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Post by wallacefan on May 2, 2017 18:31:27 GMT -5
Freshman and most sophomores need rides. A 20 minute drive everyday can be problematic for parents. Plus high schoolers driving that everyday isn't ideal. Is it unreal for such a school to employ a bus service to make a run from town to town to offer safe travel for its students? Does anyone else think it is wasteful to close one school to build another because parents want it? St. Wendelin has busses. They have 3 full size maximum passenger busses sitting in their bus garage everyday. Fact was, Findlay kids didn't want to go to FSW.
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2017 21:15:16 GMT -5
Is it unreal for such a school to employ a bus service to make a run from town to town to offer safe travel for its students? Does anyone else think it is wasteful to close one school to build another because parents want it? St. Wendelin has busses. They have 3 full size maximum passenger busses sitting in their bus garage everyday. Fact was, Findlay kids didn't want to go to FSW. No problem, Findlay has plenty of space in schools.
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Post by mediamember on May 16, 2017 10:23:56 GMT -5
St. Michael will never build a high school. Unfortunately, with the current climate, Catholic secondary education is struggling and will continue to struggle. Not sure there are many if any Catholic schools whose enrollment has increased over the past several years. As for the relationship between St. Mike and St. Wendy. There was a time, in the mid-1990s when St. Michael sent a much larger number of students to Fostoria. A change in administration at SM pretty much doomed that pipeline as sending students to Fostoria became no more important than sending them to their home public school districts. That, along with Fostoria's economic factors like job losses, declining population, less people in the pews on Sundays, doomed St. Wendelin. There just weren't as many good factory jobs for a parent to send their child through school as my mom did with my brothers and I in the 1980s. IMO the school also did a terrible job of student retention, especially among males, for a long period too. Eventually, the enrollment losses became a death spiral the school was going to be unable to escape.
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Post by sportsjock on May 16, 2017 11:09:05 GMT -5
St. Michael will never build a high school. Unfortunately, with the current climate, Catholic secondary education is struggling and will continue to struggle. Not sure there are many if any Catholic schools whose enrollment has increased over the past several years.As for the relationship between St. Mike and St. Wendy. There was a time, in the mid-1990s when St. Michael sent a much larger number of students to Fostoria. A change in administration at SM pretty much doomed that pipeline as sending students to Fostoria became no more important than sending them to their home public school districts. That, along with Fostoria's economic factors like job losses, declining population, less people in the pews on Sundays, doomed St. Wendelin. There just weren't as many good factory jobs for a parent to send their child through school as my mom did with my brothers and I in the 1980s. IMO the school also did a terrible job of student retention, especially among males, for a long period too. Eventually, the enrollment losses became a death spiral the school was going to be unable to escape. Very good assessment. Quite accurate as well. St. Michael schools, much like the community of Findlay continues to grow, bucking the general trend you mentioned. Again, St. Michael parish still owns the land for the specific purpose of building a high school campus complex. Rare these days, but St. Mikes is in a solid financial situation to undertake a project of this magnitude. The plan has been in the works quite some time for the present eventuality. My eyes and ears are open to any hint that there are is anything imminent. For that, I have no knowledge. I attended Sunday mass at St. Wendelin and learned there are something like 30 students going to Calvert next year.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2017 18:43:28 GMT -5
Sorry to see st. Wendelin close. Any chance kids come to st.Joe in Fremont?
Fwiw st.wendelin had a fine fine football program in 80's 90's .
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Post by sportsjock on May 16, 2017 19:16:36 GMT -5
Sorry to see st. Wendelin close. Any chance kids come to st.Joe in Fremont? Fwiw st.wendelin had a fine fine football program in 80's 90's . Yes they did, many of who played college ball, most notably All-Ohio tackle Greg Strudrawa, the OL coach at Ohio State. Most recently, the St. Wendelin girls were an outstanding group the past few years, advancing to State Championship game in basketball and had standouts in CC & track & field. So much history for a school founded in 1887 and the first graduating class in 1910. Actually, don't know if the word 'class' would apply, because the first graduating 'class' consisted of one solitary student...lol I guess that one student could have called themself class president or any other title they so wished. Haven't heard how many, if any, students will opt for St. Joe Central Catholic. It all depends on the geographics of the family home.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2017 20:38:46 GMT -5
Great program
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Post by artyflowers on May 17, 2017 10:44:09 GMT -5
Nice pickup for Calvert. sad for St Wendelin. I hope that St Marys doesn't end up like Wendelin in hopes that a pool of students still exists out there in the Sandusky area. Most likely if they don't end at Calvert or St Joes, I'm sure the rest will probably end up at Fostoria Sr, Hopewell, Arcadia, New Riegel, Mohawk, Elmwood, Lakota, Old Fort, Vanlue, etc...
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Post by artyflowers on Jun 4, 2017 8:56:32 GMT -5
From the Fostoria paper, about 2 dozen students will be attending New Riegel after St Wendelin closes. Still won't be enough for New Riegel to ever field a football team, but could probably add athletes to their other sports. Unless they change their mind and transfer elsewhere.
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Post by redmen62 on Jul 18, 2017 18:10:03 GMT -5
Nice pickup for Calvert. sad for St Wendelin. I hope that St Marys doesn't end up like Wendelin in hopes that a pool of students still exists out there in the Sandusky area. Most likely if they don't end at Calvert or St Joes, I'm sure the rest will probably end up at Fostoria Sr, Hopewell, Arcadia, New Riegel, Mohawk, Elmwood, Lakota, Old Fort, Vanlue, etc... They won't go to Fostoria Sr , most of the St.Wendelin students went there due to the bullying ect at Fostoria witch is why lots to go Lakota, HL and others
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