Madison and Branford Catholic Schools Will Merge Together

BRANFORD, CT - Beginning with the start of the 2018-2019 academic year, St. Mary School (SMS) in Branford will join together with Our Lady of Mercy School (OLM) in Madison to form a new school serving eastern shoreline communities.

The new school - to be known as the East Shoreline Catholic Academy (ECSA) will be housed at the current site of the St. Mary School, located at 62 Cedar Street.

The merger is being forced by the fact that OLM's lease on its current building in Madison is short-term - and declining enrollment.

In a letter to families who have students enrolled at the school, Rev. Stephen M. Sledesky, pastor of St. George Parish, and Rev. Daniel J. McLearen, Pastor of St. Margaret Parish, outline the reasons for the merger.

"The uncertainty surrounding our future home has caused us to lose enrollment these past two academic years, resulting in a significant operating deficit for the schools," the letter states. "With board approval we have been fortunate to cover this deficit with resources provided by our endowments."

OLM enrollment is down to 149, a 39 percent drop over the past five years. The enrollment at Saint Mary's is 106; five years ago it was 100.

The letter states: "Uniting the enrollment of both schools will create a stability enabling Catholic school education to prosper and continue to grow in the Madison/Guilford, Branford area."

Cheryl Panzo, current principal of OLM, will serve as the new principal of the new school, in collaboration with Sister Annettee D'Antonio, current principal of St. Mary's, who will be assistant principal at the new school.

The letter goes on to state: "The promise of this new initiative follows a period of uncertainty for the Our Lady of Mercy School community during which many different options have been considered. In December 2015, after being informed by the Sisters of Mercy that they would not be renewing our building lease beyond June 2018, we formed a Vision Committee to work with us and the Board to find possible solutions to this challenge.

"Through regular weekly meetings over these past two years," the letter continues, "we have explored many options. This resulted in making an offer to the Sisters of Mercy to purchase our current school building, which was not only rejected, but at which point we were told in no uncertain terms that the building is not for sale."

After considering many options, the letter says: "One option which has always been a possibility is to partner with our neighbors in Branford, to unite our resources and form an entirely new school entity. Having examined all possible opportunities for our future, it became clear to us that the most promising path forward is the creation of this new school, in partnership with St. Mary, offering an innovative option not currently available to east shoreline students."

The letter concludes: "Many details regarding ECSA still need to be determined and will be worked out in coming weeks through collaboration among the pastors, principals, and other advisors/constituents from the three parishes, as determined by the pastors and school leadership.

"The Office of Education, Evangelization and Catechesis will also participate in this process and provide ongoing support. Included among the topics to be discussed will be finances, tuition, physical plan needs, the continuity of school traditions and Catholic identity, and the opportunities for family engagement at the new school.

"While this may be difficult news for some, we remain confident in the wisdom of this decision, and are extremely optimistic about the future of Catholic school education on the east shoreline," the letter concludes.

An information meeting about the new school is being planned for the evening of February 15th at the site of the new school.