Education
Catholic education in the diocese began with the pioneer Father O'Reilly. In the autumn of 1842, he opened a college at St. Joseph's, Susquehanna County. Under his supervision, it grew and flourished and in the 22 years of its existence, the college educated two bishops and over 20 priests. It was destroyed by fire on January 1, 1864 and was never rebuilt. St. Thomas College was established in 1888 and came under the direction of the Christian Brothers. In 1938, it was elevated to become the University of Scranton. The Society of Jesus took charge of its governance in 1942. Marywood University, also in Scranton, was founded and is operated by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. King's College in Wilkes-Barre is operated by the Congregation of the Holy Cross. And, in Dallas, Misericordia University was founded by the Religious Sisters of Mercy in 1924.
In the 1940s, it opened the South Scranton Catholic High School, later Bishop Klonowski High School. The school closed in 1982.
Due to rapidly declining enrollment and mounting financial obligations, the Most Reverend Joseph Martino employed the Meitler Consultants to assess the catholic schools and provide recommendations to restructure the education system. The final decisions, made in January 2007, resulted in the consolidation of all schools as under direct diocesan control. It created four regional systems (as shown below), and closed many individual schools. All of the secondary education centers in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties were closed and replaced by two regional schools: Holy Cross High School to serve Lackawanna County and Holy Redeemer High School to serve Luzerne County. The curriculum of the diocese was standardized to promote continuity and uniformity in the education of the students, and improvements have been visible in the results of college attendance and standardized test results, which consistently rank well above the area's public schools. In April 2010, the Most Revered Joseph Bambera announced an adjustment of the diocesan school system, which dealt with financial contributions, marketing and promotion of the schools, and the closure of four elementary school sites.
As of the 2011-2012 school year, the Diocese of Scranton operates six early childhood centers, sixteen elementary schools and four high schools, as shown below (in alphabetical order of the municipality in which they occur). Regional Systems are delineated and high school centers are in boldface.
Read more about this topic: Roman Catholic Diocese Of Scranton
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