West suburban Catholic school to remain open, pastor announces

Michael Johnson
·2 min read

CICERO, Ill. — A west suburban Catholic school will remain open, after all, as it prepares to mark a milestone anniversary.

On Wednesday, the pastor at St. Frances of Rome School in Cicero announced the school will remain open, reversing the announcement made in January by the Archdiocese of Chicago that the school would close at the end of the current academic year, right after marking its 100th anniversary.

According to a news release from the Archdiocese of Chicago, Wednesday’s announcement comes after the non-profit Big Shoulders Fund, the Archdiocese of Chicago, the parish of St. Frances of Rome School and its sharing parish, St. Anne Parish in Barrington, rallied to provide the funds necessary to keep the school operating “for at least the next five years.”

“Our school is a special part of our parish and the Cicero community,” Rev. Radek Jaszczuk, pastor at St. Frances of Rome School, said in the release. “I am overwhelmed by the generosity of these donors who are joining with us to keep St. Frances of Rome School open.”

“Catholic schools have been providing an excellent education to children in the Chicago area as long as there has been a Chicago,” Greg Richmond, Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago, said in the release. “With (Wednesday)’s announcement, St. Frances of Rome will educate students for years to come.

“… We are united in the mission to enable all families — including low-income families — to have the choice to enroll their children in a Catholic school.”

When it was announced in January that St. Frances of Rome School would be closing, local school leaders placed blame with the Illinois State Legislature.

Families from the school petitioned to keep it open and held a protest last month.

The announcement that the school will remain open was shared with students, staff and families just days before it’s scheduled to celebrate its 100th anniversary, according to the release.

“The anniversary has enabled us to reconnect with our incredible alumni community, which is eager to support the school for its next 100 years,” principal Phillip Jackson said in the release.

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