PHILADELPHIA — Roman Catholic high schools in the Philadelphia area will soon be managed by a private foundation, a historic arrangement that could reinvigorate a system decimated by high costs and low enrollment, church officials announced yesterday.
Archbishop Charles Chaput said the church-affiliated Faith in the Future Foundation will oversee 17 secondary and four special-education schools starting Sept. 1.
“While this decision reflects a paradigm shift, it serves to change the organizational structure for Catholic education, not its mission,” Chaput said.
The archdiocese helped establish the lay foundation six months ago following an outpouring of support for four high schools targeted for closure. Impromptu fund-raising of about $12 million eventually led Chaput to keep the buildings open.
Foundation Chairman Edward Hanway described it as marrying “an outstanding educational system with 21st-century business management techniques.”
Until now, the Philadelphia-area high schools have been overseen by the archdiocese’s Office of Catholic Education. Under the new agreement, the schools will still get religious and academic curricula from that office, but administrators will report to the foundation, said Hanway.