Saving St. Anne's School

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Hoboken Charter School reopens K-8 program in Jersey City Heights building
Published: Wednesday, September 19, 2012, 3:00 AM
Charles Hack/The Jersey Journal

Hoboken Charter School students returned to school yesterday but not in Hoboken.

The K-8 program of the Washington Street school had been suspended since a three-alarm fire whipped through its building the former home of the Academy of the Sacred Heart high school on Sept. 6.

The 220-student program reopened yesterday at the old St. Anne’s School, at 255 Congress St. in the Jersey City Heights.

One of the first items of business yesterday: A fire drill.

Children lined up around the block with staff members in an orderly manner and re-entered the school building at 11:15 a.m.

“Things are going really great,” said vice principal Sue Jain. “We have had an outpouring of support from the community. We can’t speak highly enough of everyone, especially the firefighters. Everyone in Hoboken has been so helpful. It’s been great.”

Many of the students availed themselves of a bus pickup and drop-off system the school has worked out, Principal Deirdra Grode said.

Grode said the day after the fire occurred, board members and administrators started scouting out possible places to temporarily relocate.

St. Anne’s School had closed in June due to dwindling enrollment.

Although other locations were available, including some in Hoboken, the St. Anne’s School building is large enough to keep the program together, Grode said.

“A key priority for us was keeping our K through 8 students together. We felt it was important for safety, integrity of our program, and also logistically,” she said. “We are happy to be here.”

Grode said she and board members are still waiting on a damage assessment in regard to the four-story building at 713 Washington St. in Hoboken.

The Hoboken Charter School’s high school, at Fourth and Garden streets, was not affected by the fire.

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St. Anne's School, in Jersey City Heights, graduates its last class, and will close on Thursday
Published: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 7:29 AM
Updated: Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 8:25 AM
Michael Scrivner/The Jersey Journal

More than 100 alumni, family members, faculty and staff attended the bittersweet final graduation of St. Anne's School in Jersey City last week.

"The school will live on in each of us," Noam Fossi, salutatorian, told the class of 20 grads in his speech on Friday at St. Anne's Church. Valedictorian Justin Melendez added: "As the doors of St. Anne's close, many more will open."

The 112-year-old school at Kennedy Boulevard and Congress Street will close its doors for good on Thursday due to rising debt and declining enrollment, school officials said.

At its peak in 1976, the school had more than 700 students. This school year, there were 188 students, down from 240 last year.

"After being here so long, it's very sad," vice principal Barbara Verdonck, who has been with the school for 25 years, told The Jersey Journal yesterday. "The school had a family-oriented spirit."

Parents of the pre-K through seventh-grade students are now looking for new schools for their children.

In September, seven Catholic schools will remain in Jersey City and the number of Catholic schools operated by the Archdiocese of Newark has dropped from 300 to 112 since the 1960s, said Jim Goodness, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Newark.

Mater Dei in Kearny, which was created in 2009 by the merger of St. Stephen of Kearny and Holy Cross of Harrison, will also shut its doors this week.

Mark Rowan, who graduated from St. Anne's in 1963 and attended Friday's graduation, was cautiously optimistic.

"I'm extremely proud of the staff and school ... even my son graduated here," he said. "In two years, I bet it's a charter school."

But while there has been talk among parishioners of a charter school opening in the St. Anne's School building, Goodness said no such plans have been made.

The last day of class will begin with a 9 a.m. Mass, Verdonck said.

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Parents and Jersey City pols who hope to save St. Anne's School from closing hear details of deal with Archdiocese of Newark; must raise tuition by $500 and make $100,000 payment in six weeks
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
By ASHLEY STRAIN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The St. Anne's Centennial Hall on Congress Street was so packed Monday night that many in attendance had to stand to hear about the deal the finance board made with the Archdiocese of Newark in order to save the school.

"In order to stay open, the school must raise tuition by $500, and we also have to raise $100,000 by Sunday, May 15," said Jim Carroll, the committee financial adviser. "I'm cautiously optimistic, I think that we can do it."

The school, which is $350,000 in debt with the Archdiocese, must also forego a 2 percent salary increase for teachers, but teachers will not lose their jobs nor will they have to take pay cuts.

"The parents don't mind an increase in tuition, we love the school and will do whatever is necessary to keep it open," said Margaret Wheeler, whose children attend the school.

Several public officials in attendance came forward to pledge a donation. Mayor Jerramiah Healy pledged a $1,000 donation from his personal bank account.

"St. Anne's has over a century of success stories and even the current students, we are told, are producing high test scores," said Healy, who along with his siblings, wife and four children, was educated in Catholic schools.

"We believe that small Catholic schools, which have been closing around the city, county and state, are an asset to the community and serve as an additional option for parents who seek extra discipline, smaller class size, and religious instruction."

Councilman Steven Fulop also made a pledge. His was for $5,000, which he said will most likely come from both his personal and campaign accounts.

"Politicians should be leading from the front and it is not enough to just say we are here to help," Fulop said. "If you believe something is important you have to be involved via actions. Schools like St. Anne's that are supported by the community are vital."

St. Anne's has already received $20,000 in donations, spokesmen said.

Jim Goodness, a spokesman for the Archdiocese, confirmed that the school will stay open if it meets the requirements. He added that the diocese's "prayers are with St. Anne's."

"Now there has to be a significant number of students at St. Anne's to keep the school going at this point," Goodness said. The school has 228 students in nine grades - kindergarten through eighth.

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