New Rochelle School to Move, Become Part of Catholic School Region of Central Westchester

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Promising enrollment trends at Holy Name of Jesus School in New Rochelle add up to a relocation at the end of the school year to the larger complex of the former Holy Family School, also in New Rochelle.

The distance between the two buildings is less than three miles.

Located in central New Rochelle, the re-opened Holy Family School will be part of the Catholic School Region of Central Westchester, with the schools’ financial governance tied to the region rather than to the local parish.

Archdiocesan practice encourages Catholic schools to adopt the name of their co-located parish. As such, with the transition, Holy Name of Jesus School will be reopened as Holy Family School beginning in September.

“This is an exciting opportunity for the Catholic school community in New Rochelle,” said Dr. Timothy McNiff, archdiocesan superintendent of schools. “Today’s announcement is an affirmation of the archdiocesan commitment for Catholic schools in the greater New Rochelle area. We are confident that the re-opening of Holy Family will sustain our current growth and provide our students with a larger and better-equipped school facility.”

The superintendent’s office and the administration of Holy Name of Jesus School will work closely with families to ensure a seamless transition to Holy Family School, according to a statement from the superintendent’s office.

 “When I arrived as principal here in 2015, our enrollment was 145 students,” said Joanne Kelly, principal of Holy Name of Jesus School. “Today, it is almost 170.  Our greatest expansion has been in our early childhood classes.”

The small size of the Holy Name of Jesus School building offers limited room to expand there, she said. “The Holy Family facility will give us more classrooms, room for our art and music classes, a new library and media center and a new, state-of-the-art science lab.”

Holy Name of Jesus School opened in 1953. It is located in a small, quiet community on the east end of New Rochelle, according to the principal.

Holy Family School closed in 2005. Since that time, its classrooms have been used by nearby Iona College in New Rochelle as well as by the public school district.

The Holy Name of Jesus school community looks forward to the transition, Ms. Kelly said, and is “thrilled that our parents and community are supportive and positive about this move.”

The school’s motto has been “‘the little school with the big heart,’” the principal said. “So now, we are calling ourselves ‘the little school that grew.’”