A committee of Schuylkill County leaders, including county Commissioner George F. Halcovage Jr., has developed a plan to secure the future of Nativity BVM High School in Pottsville.
"I am encouraged by the commitment it shows to the school," the Most Rev. John O. Barres, Bishop of the Diocese of Allentown, said in a letter sent home with students Tuesday. "After detailed study by many people, I have concluded that the diocese should start with this plan," Barres said.
"We understand what our challenge is: providing a faith-based education while keeping the costs in line. We have a very positive plan. We're pleased with the communication we've had with the diocese. We have excellent schools in the area and Nativity is among them. From an academic standpoint, it's one of the best schools around, and it's something the county needs," Halcovage, a 1975 Nativity graduate, said Tuesday.
Founded in 1955, Nativity BVM, based on Lawton's Hill in Pottsville, has an enrollment of 171 students, diocesan Communications Director Matt Kerr said Tuesday.
The committee assembled soon after the diocese announced in November 2012 that it had commissioned a study to determine the school's future due to declining enrollment, Kerr said.
Its members include Halcovage, Bill Kirwan, John Boyer, Paul Domalakes, H.J. Fenstermacher, Karen Ferenchick, Monsignor William Glosser, William Kirwan, Eric Lieberman, the Rev. David Loeper, Alvin Marshall, Elizabeth Miller, Thomas Nickels, Mary Sitcoske and Joseph Troy, according to a press release Kerr issued Tuesday.
"The members of the committee possess significant experience and business acumen," Barres said, adding that saving Nativity BVM will require such skills.
"A review of the diocese's financial commitment to Nativity illustrates that in the last four years alone, the diocese has contributed well in excess of $1 million to the school. Much work remains to be done by the entire Nativity community. Among other things, the school needs Nativity's local pastors and parishes, students, parents, teachers and graduates to explain to friends, families and neighbors why they should consider a Nativity education for themselves or their children. Everyone in the larger Nativity community is responsible for enrollment, which will be critical to the future of the school. I intend to personally help you in that effort," Barres said.
Meanwhile, the diocese continued the study it launched in November.
The last time the diocese conducted such a study was in 2010 in Berks County. The result was the merger of two schools, Reading Central Catholic and Holy Name, in 2011.
The diocese had contracted Tweed-Weber of Reading, a research and strategic planning firm, to do the study.
"The study included interviews with dozens of Nativity stakeholders, a focus group with a representative sample of Nativity students and an online survey in which nearly 1,600 people participated," Kerr said.
The results "showed significant support for Nativity in the community and among parents and alumni, as well as both short- and long-term challenges that need to be met," Kerr said.
"I am hopeful that hard work, a stronger and more engaged local community support and, as always, prayer and a renewed commitment to Christ and his Church, will lead to a brighter future for Nativity High School," Barres said.
The group's plan includes the development of "Nativity's first school governance board," Kerr said.
"The board will focus on finance, marketing, enrollment management, development and facilities," Kerr said.
"That board is still being put together. It will be assembled by the diocese and school officials. It's a system that has been put into effect in other schools similar to Nativity and has worked successfully. I would think it will be put together by spring," Halcovage said.