Skokie Parish School Saved, First To Go Independent In Years

Skokie Parish School Saved, First To Go Independent In Years
Archbishop Blase Cupich, pictured here during his Installation Mass at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago in 2014, gave his blessing to the new governing board of the Academy at St. Joan of Arc. The school will run independently in the fall. Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press
Skokie Parish School Saved, First To Go Independent In Years
Archbishop Blase Cupich, pictured here during his Installation Mass at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago in 2014, gave his blessing to the new governing board of the Academy at St. Joan of Arc. The school will run independently in the fall. Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press

Skokie Parish School Saved, First To Go Independent In Years

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For decades, Catholic schools across the country have been closing at a rapid rate — struggling to keep up with enrollment decline and financial constraints.

Catholic schools in the Chicago area have felt the same burden, forcing the Archdiocese of Chicago to consider which of its parish schools to close. St. Joan of Arc in Skokie was one them, until parents and parishioners in the community decided to act. They raised enough money to make the school go independent in the fall and also got the Archdiocese’s blessing to move forward with this plan.

Board chairman Steve King joins Morning Shift to talk about plans for the Academy at St. Joan of Arc and professor Carol Ann MacGregor weighs in on the future of Catholic education in America.

GUESTS: Steve King, board chairman of the Academy at St. Joan of Arc

Carol Ann MacGregor, associate professor and senior director of institutional research and effective development at Loyola University New Orleans

LEARN MORE: Evanston, Skokie communities save parish school by making it first Catholic school to go independent in years (Chicago Tribune 3/5/19)