Two New Bedford Catholic are schools merging in 2022. What we know about the plan.

Linda Roy, Standard-Times
·2 min read

NEW BEDFORD — Students of Holy Family Holy Name School on Summer Street will be going to another school next year when their building is shuttered at the end of this academic year.

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha made the announcement that Holy Family Holy Name will be merging with St. James St. John School in a video produced for the Catholic Schools Alliance website.

St. James St. John on Orchard Street will also be getting a new name because of the merger, Bishop da Cunha said. He said he would make a final decision on its name once students and families offer input on naming the new school.

Third grade students of the Holy Family Holy Name school on Summer St. in New Bedford walk past a statue of Mary on their way to lunch.
Third grade students of the Holy Family Holy Name school on Summer St. in New Bedford walk past a statue of Mary on their way to lunch.

Also, the Kennedy Youth Center behind St. James St. John will be renovated to become the classes for grades 6-8 under the newly merged school campus, said Sandi M. Duxbury, the Catholic School’s vice president of marketing and enrollment.

Students in grades Pre-K through grade 5 will be housed in the current St. James St. John building.

“It will be an exciting new school with expanded and renovated space,” Bishop da Cunha said in the video.

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Why is Holy Family Holy Name school in New Bedford closing

The decision to close Holy Family Holy Name was based on the financial challenges it faced with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that the 100-year-old school was becoming too expensive to maintain, the Diocese said in a press release.

The Central School Board decided it would make more sense to invest in updating facilities at St. James St. John School and the Kennedy Youth Center.

St. James St. John Principal Cristina Viveiros-Serra will serve as principal for the new elementary school, while Holy Family Holy Name Principal Deacon Peter Schutzler will be dean of the middle school, announced Catholic Schools Supt. Daniel S. Roy in a press release.

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What do families need to do because the schools are merging

Students of both schools will continue to wear their current uniforms next year, but there will eventually be new ones to reflect the newly merged school once it is named.

According to the Catholic schools’ website, student registration forms will be going out to families next week and students should be re-enrolled under the current name of the school they are attending.

“Uniting Holy Family Holy Name and St. James St. John means preserving the rich traditions of both schools and missions in a way that allows for great innovation and growth,” Bishop da Cunha said in his address.

Standard-Times digital producer Linda Roy can be reached at mailto:lroy@s-t.com You can follow her on Twitter at @LindaRoy_SCT. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford Catholic schools merging, new building