Schools

St. Theresa School: The New Name for Naugatuck's Merged Catholic Institution

Archdiocese announces official plan to merge the two schools, St. Francis and St. Hedwig, in a measure to save costs and sustain Catholic education in the borough.

The Archdiocese of Hartford announced in a meeting to parents Wednesday its official plan to merge St. Hedwig and St. Francis schools, two parochial institutions in Naugatuck, into one facility under a new name.

The new merged school will be called St. Theresa School.

Superintendent Dale R. Hoyt, who heads the Office of Catholic Schools for the archdiocese, met with scores of parents in the basement of St. Francis Church in the downtown on Wednesday, to present the final proposal on the merger of the K-8 schools.

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Officials said the name St. Theresa was chosen in honor of St. Theresa of Lisieux, a French nun from the late 19th Century. She was referred to as “Little Flower,” and was known for her devotion to the religious life and to Jesus Christ.

The name change will go into effect July 1, 2011, with students enrolled in the new St. Theresa School by the fall. The new school will be situated at the current St. Francis School building, while the St. Hedwig building will close. Principal John Salatto, who heads St. Hedwig School now, will become the new principal of St. Theresa School. Meanwhile Principal Tom Fuller, who is principal at St. Francis, is reportedly returning to teaching.

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Nine teachers from St. Francis will go on to teach at the new St. Theresa, along with four teachers from St. Hedwig. Teachers that don’t receive a new position at St. Theresa will be placed on a priority-hiring list for the Office of Catholic Schools.

A merging of the two schools was seen as the likely direction after the archdiocese opened up a consultation process where it examined the two schools’ futures. Both schools are reportedly in debt and hampered by decreasing enrollment for the past decade. The archdiocese held several meetings with parents, school officials and parishioners, although it never stated that merger was definitely going to happen.

In a press release, Hoyt said it was important to gather input from the “broad-based constituencies” before making any ruling.

“After reviewing all of the information that was collected, the predominant idea was that we merge the two schools,” Hoyt said in a press release. “The next step was to discuss the viability and sustainability of such a proposal with the principals and pastors of St. Hedwig and St. Francis Assisi, and then seek the guidance of Archbishop Henry J. Mansell.”

Mansell reportedly supports the recommendation.

The office is reportedly encouraging St. Hedwig families to enroll their children in the new St. Theresa School. Concerns arose in recent meetings that the St. Hedwig families would likely bring their students elsewhere.

“My feeling is a lot of parents (from St. Hedwig) don’t want (their children) to come to St. Francis,” said Cher Fried, a mother of two children at St. Hedwig. “I don’t think they’re going to meet 100 percent enrollment.”

St. Theresa School would need 230 students to be sustainable, the Rev. Michael Slusz said. Right now 147 are enrolled at St. Hedwig and 154 at St. Francis.

Fried said she feels parents will opt to enroll their children in Waterbury and Cheshire Catholic schools before moving to St. Francis. As for herself, Fried said she and her children will “check out” St. Theresa before deciding to enroll there.

Other reactions were different. Two parents that left the school, and declined to give their name, said they found the merger positive because there would at least be Catholic education in Naugatuck.

Hoyt said after the meeting he felt 90 percent of the crowd in the room was positive to the merger. He said they were hopeful for the future for Catholic education to be sustained in Naugatuck.

The schools are expected to notify their students today, Hoyt said. Then the alumni will be informed of the merger, followed by the parishioners of St. Francis and St. Hedwig parishes, the superintendent said.

Hoyt said he hopes the schools will start sharing certain events in the coming months, such as potluck suppers.


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