Blessed Trinity Academy the merger of three Catholic schools

It took a few months, but there's a new name for North Hills Catholic grade schools affected by the Diocese of Pittsburgh-mandated regionalization.

St. Mary of the Assumption School in Indiana Township, St. Bonaventure School in Shaler and St. Ursula School in Hampton will merge to form a new school with two campuses this fall, starting fresh with a fresh new name — Blessed Trinity Academy.

“Trinity means three and we are three schools coming together,” said Meredith Kandravy, a parent and spokesperson for St. Mary of the Assumption. “I am very positive about everything that is happening and the future definitely looks bright.”

The new name follows the recent merger where as of the fall of 2017, 10 Catholic elementary schools will become a ministry of all 32 parishes.

For the new Blessed Trinity Academy, pre-school and pre-kindergarten will be in the St. Bonaventure building, and kindergarten through eighth grade will fill the halls of the previous St. Mary school. For St. Ursula, the 106-year-old building will close its doors.

“Of the three buildings, ours was the biggest so when they were looking at who could grow in the future, it was kind of a no-brainer because we had the most space,” Kandravy said.

Though the regionalization keeps much of the schools' missions the same, St. Mary of the Assumption's Principal Judy Riegelnegg said that the new curriculum will be an important change moving forward.

“We expect to have a stronger, standardized curriculum across all of the Catholic grade schools in the North Hills,” Riegelnegg said. Overall, the mergers bring a new curriculum and materials to the newly formed North Hills schools. The upcoming academic year will introduce a new literacy initiative and a Latin and Greek Roots Challenge, said diocesan spokesman Bob Dewitt.

There are 392 students enrolled amongst the three schools, and although registration is still open and the final enrollment for the 2017-18 school year is yet to be determined, small class sizes will become a little larger.

Kandravy has three kids within the new Blessed Trinity system and said that her third grade son is excited to meet new classmates. Coming from a very small class that will more than double, she said he looks forward to not being the only boy in the room.

“I'm ecstatic there will be so many new kids coming and parents to volunteer,” she said.

But a larger class doesn't result in more teachers, and cuts will be made amongst all North Hills schools. Overall, 25 full-time teachers and 11 part-time teachers have received layoff notices thus far, and that number could grow.

“We have had our first round of teacher-hiring already,” Kandravy said. “There will be new faces in the building, but unfortunately, there will be teachers losing their jobs… that is definitely the hard part.”

Before the merger, the parish held back from any construction or renovation to the St. Mary School, but this summer several classrooms will get new floors and the building's Providence Hall will be renovated into a multimedia room.

“Since we didn't know if we were going to even be a building, it wasn't worth putting the money in,” Kandravy said. “Now that we renamed the building, the parish is able to come in and do some cool stuff.”

Riegelnegg said she looks forward to creating a broader community. The athletics from all three schools have already formed their own board, which is just the beginning of their collaboration.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our schools to grow and thrive, providing more opportunities for our students in new classes and extracurricular activities,” Riegelnegg said. “We expect it to be an enriching experience.”

Christine Manganas is a freelance writer.