Prendergast & Bonner
to restructure
Two archdiocesan high schools to consolidate administrations, retain single-sex curricula
By CHRISTIE L. CHICOINE
CS&T Staff Writer
Monsignor Bonner High School for Boys and Archbishop Prendergast High School for Girls, which share a campus in Drexel Hill, will become one co-institutional high school next July 1, although their single-sex identities will remain.
On Sept. 29, the Archdiocese’s Office of Catholic Education announced the administrative restructuring of the schools.
The new, co-institutional school, will have one president, one principal and three assistant principles — one assistant principal for academic affairs, one assistant principal for student services and one assistant principal for student affairs; one registrar and one coordinator for student services.
The names of the administrators will be announced at a later date.
“The new, co-institutional model of governance positions Prendergast and Bonner for future success,” said Richard McCarron, Secretary for Catholic Education for the Philadelphia Archdiocese. “It provides the best of both worlds.”
Each school will maintain single-sex education in its core curriculum for its students.
However, all elective, honors and advanced placement courses will be shared by the male and female students.
“It’s really an attempt to give it an identifiable niche, and to guarantee that it’s going to be there,” McCarron said.
The combined enrollment of both schools is currently 1,754. In 1963, Monsignor Bonner had 3,173 students on its roster, while Archbishop Prendergast had 3,733 students.
Because they share the same campus — Monsignor Bonner is located at 403 N. Lansdowne Ave. and Archbishop Prendergast is at 401 N. Lansdowne Ave. — the two high schools have collaborated for years while maintaining their individual identities.
At the same time, co-educational classes have been conducted in advanced placement classes.
But as enrollment has decreased, costs have increased at both schools.
In order to deliver educational services efficiently to a new generation of students, a new model of administration was deemed necessary, according to the Office of Catholic Education.
A steering committee will be formed this month, to review and coordinate the planning for the new administrative model. Subcommittees will evaluate the schools’ Catholic identity and mission, academics, technology, recruitment, student services and student affairs, as well as their finances and facilities.
The presidents of both schools say they approve of the restructuring.
Sister of St. Joseph Catherine Robinson, president of Archbishop Prendergast, said she believes the plan is a solid solution.
“We need to provide more academic electives for the kids, and we can’t do that financially the way we’re operating,” Sister Catherine said. “By cutting down on administration, we can offer more … classes that the boys and girls can share.”
She and other school officials at Prendergast have assured the students the changes will ultimately benefit the student body.
“It’s their future, their school, and we’re here for them,” Sister Catherine said. “We said to them, we see this as an opportunity for you.”
Augustinian Father Augustine M. Esposito, president of Monsignor Bonner, said the effort that has been invested in the restructuring proposal indicates that dedication to Catholic education remains a high priority for everyone involved in the project.
“It is hopeful to know that the intention is to maintain the single-sex education in the Delaware County area — which has been one of the hallmarks of Bonner and Prendie’s many traditions over the years,” Father Esposito said.
He added that it is also “a hopeful sign that we are really positioning ourselves for a very solid future as single-sex schools.”
Change, Father Esposito added, can be good: “It’s characteristic of progress, and very typical of the mission of Catholic education, to undergo all types of transformation and changes, and meet challenges of the present day.”
Both presidents said the reaction of the students has been varied.
The bottom line in the restructuring is to build up both the schools and the Church, said McCarron.
“The reason a Catholic school exists is to form and inform students in the faith,” he said. “[Each is] going to come out of this a stronger Catholic school.”
All 21 archdiocesan high schools are currently in the fourth year of their five-year strategic plans, and the Office of Catholic Education is helping them prepare for their new, five-year-cycle planning processes.
“We’re looking at every area of the diocese to see how we can strengthen the delivery of Catholic educational services,” McCarron said.
Among other questions, each high school will be considering what sets it apart from the others — what unique programs it offers, where it will be in five years, and how it will market itself to its school community.
In 1952, Archbishop Prendergast High School for Boys was established in the building that had formerly housed St. Vincent’s Orphanage.
Three years later, a new school building was built on the same campus, and named Monsignor Bonner High School for Boys. Archbishop Prendergast was then designated as a school for girls.
For more information, call the Archdiocese’s Office of Catholic Education at (215) 587-3700.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine can be reached at (215) 587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.