WHEELING, W.Va.—Parents of the 13 students at Wheeling Catholic Elementary School were informed this week that the school would be closing on December 16, 2011. This concludes 114 years of education at the former Cathedral Parish School, where demographic changes to its surrounding community have greatly contributed to reduced enrollment at the school.
“Based on an honest evaluation of the resources available to help us achieve our mission of providing a quality Catholic education for our students, we acknowledge that the 13 students at Wheeling Catholic Elementary School will be better served at other Catholic schools in the Wheeling area,” said Bryan Minor, spokesman for the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.
Minor said that while five dedicated faculty and staff members remain at the school, there are not sufficient resources to support them and the school. Over the past eight years, the Diocese has provided $2.4 million in financial subsidies to Wheeling Catholic to support operations and academic programs.
“This is a sad day,” Minor said. “We join the broader community in grieving the loss of this very important part of our educational experience and Catholic life here in Wheeling. Wheeling Catholic had a fine run, and it is sad to see it close. However, its spirit will live on in the generations of alumni whose lives were forever changed by the clergy, religious and lay teachers who served the school so well.”
The decision comes after careful consultation with Most Reverend Bishop Michael J. Bransfield, Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston, and the Diocesan Office of Catholic Schools. Until December 16, the faculty and staff of the school will continue instruction while also working with families to effectively transition students to other schools. Wheeling Catholic’s staff has already called neighboring Catholic schools to secure enrollment for their students, and specific recommendations related to transition have been made to families.
“To assist with this transition, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston is offering scholarship assistance which may be applied to tuition at another Catholic school in the Diocese at which parents enroll their children this academic year,” Minor said. “These local Catholic schools are prepared to work with the affected families and welcome them in the same loving manner as our teachers at Wheeling Catholic have done for so many years.”
The Diocese also has Catholic schools in the Elm Grove, Woodsdale, and Warwood in Wheeling, one school serving the Mt. Olivet and Sherrard areas, and schools in Benwood and Moundsville in Marshall County.
According to the Diocesan Superintendent of Catholic Schools, Mr. Vincent de Paul Schmidt, the Diocese will assist Wheeling Catholic’s faculty and staff with networking and transitioning into any job openings that may arise at local Catholic schools.
“While their timeline for moving to another school may not mirror the same schedule as the students, we are committed to supporting them during this transition,” Schmidt said. “We thank them for their selfless service to their students and for espousing and living the school’s mission each day.”
Bishop Bransfield offered words of encouragement for the affected families. “Please understand that we recognize the importance of our children in the future of our Church in Wheeling and throughout the Diocesan Church,” Bransfield said. This decision was made after prayerful contemplation about the best use of our resources that maximizes each child’s potential.”
“We also wanted to disclose this information in a timely manner, so that parents may seriously consider the many Catholic school options there are in Wheeling and in the Diocese,” Bransfield added.
Future use of the school building has not been determined, according to diocesan officials. The structure is in excellent condition due to recent investments into the facility by local benefactors, foundations and the diocese. According to Msgr. Frederick P. Annie, Vicar General of the Diocese, there will be an adaptive reuse of the building.
“We will meet with our senior staff to decide what can be done to best retrofit the school building for future use, whether that is for educational use, administrative use or for continued ministry by the Cathedral of St. Joseph parish community, or a mix of all three,” Annie said.
According to Schmidt, Wheeling Catholic has been one of the two most highly subsidized schools in the Diocese for almost a decade, and its enrollment has sharply deceased during the last three years. Schmidt said that Wheeling Catholic’s enrollment dropped in half to 61 students in 2009-10 and down to 40 students in 2010-11.
“While it has been important to continue Wheeling Catholic for many reasons, we do have other quality Catholic schools within minutes of downtown, and those schools are well equipped to take on Wheeling Catholic’s students,” Schmidt said.
“With Central Catholic High School, the Cathedral of St. Joseph and the administrative offices of the Diocese all here in East Wheeling, we are certainly not abandoning the city,” Bransfield added. “In fact, we have worked in recent years on an extensive gentrification project to beautify, restore and secure the neighborhood and our buildings for students, Cathedral parishioners, employees, resident clergy and our neighbors.”
Brief History of Wheeling Catholic Elementary School:
• August 27, 1897 - Xaverian Brothers opened the (then called) Cathedral High School for boys ages 8 through high school. It was opened under the guidance of Bishop Donahue with approximately 300 young men attending. Military procedures were followed and the boys became known as the “Cadets” performing around the Wheeling holidays for special events. Brother Angelus, CFX was the first Principal.
• 1922 - Under the direction of Bishop Swint the school discontinued the military aspect, as the cost became a hardship for families.
• 1923 - Sisters of St. Joseph took over teaching boys in grades 1-6 while the Brothers continued to teach the upper levels. School name was changed from Cathedral High School to Central High School.
• 1925 - 525 Students, 9 Brothers, 9 Sisters and 1 lay teacher made up the school. Sister Perpetua Hurley, SSJ, was the first principal of grades 1-6.
• 1933 - The Xaverian Brothers leave Wheeling and the Marist Brothers of Poughkeepsie, NY begin teaching duties.
• 1933 - Brother Paul FMS became Principal.
• 1937 - Gymnasium, 6 classrooms for the high school added at a cost of $75,000.00
• 1939 - 361 elementary students, 408 high school students
• 1950 - 391 elementary students, 420 high school students
• 1955 - Blessed Martin School on 13th Street closed and the children from that school joined with the Cathedral school.
• 1960 - Enrollment continued to increase and a new Central Catholic High School was built. Cathedral Grade school then occupied the entire 1896/1936 building.
• 1970 - Decrease in enrollment due to the reduction of local population. This decline continued through 1980.
• 1972 - Extensive renovations to the 1937 building were made and the second and third floors of the 1896 building were closed to students.
• 1975 - First Catholic Kindergarten in the area was opened under the Priest’s sacristy in the Cathedral of St. Joseph.
• 1981 - St. Ladislaus & St. Alphonsus Catholic schools merged and were called Wheeling Catholic Consolidated.
• 1985 - School enrollment continued to drop at Cathedral Parish School therefore Wheeling Catholic Consolidated and Cathedral Parish School joined with Cathedral Parish School taking students K-3 and Wheeling Consolidated School taking students in the upper grades.
• 1988 - Wheeling Catholic Consolidated School closed and Wheeling Catholic Elementary School for grades K-8 became the new center city school.
• January 9, 1997 - Listed on the National Register of Historic Places United States Department of the Interior
• 2004 - Renovation of the 2nd & 3rd floors of the 1896 building was completed. The second floor was opened for the Intermediate grades, Library, Advancement Office, Family Support Center, Guidance and Social Worker Offices, a tutoring room, and a workroom for teachers. With the installation of the elevator and ramps, both buildings became compliant with the ADA.