ST. LOUIS – St. Mary’s High School is expected to make a big announcement about the future of the school.
The announcement is happening 9 a.m. Thursday at the school’s gym, but many parents are anxiously waiting for the update.
“I thought about looking for another school, but because he’s giving so much positiveness and told us we’re not closing,” said Michelle Neals. “This is what we’re doing, and he’s given us a step-by-step process of what they’re doing. We didn’t apply to any other schools to move anywhere else.”
Neals’ son is a freshman at the school, and she said she plans to attend the announcement on Thursday.
She is hoping to hear some good news.
“That they’ll be staying open long term, and it won’t just be for one year,” Neals said. “That they’ll be staying open forever and that they have a solid plan to achieve that, and it’s going to take some work from us as parents because we have to support the vision as well.”
Parents are not the only ones anxious about the announcement, faculty and staff are as well.
“It’s a bit scary. We have faculty that kind of went through the transition of other Catholic schools close throughout the year,” said Bryan Turner, assistant athletic director for St. Mary’s High School. “You’ve got some teachers that actually left two different schools and went to St. Mary’s.”
Everyone is hoping to get some clarity about the future of the school. Officials with the Archdiocese of St. Louis said, “St. Mary’s has accepted the terms of a three-year lease from the Archdiocese.”
For now, the focus is getting the students through the end of the semester.
“The atmosphere around here has been kind of the same way,” Turner said. “Our president has done so much with working behind the scene to just get this done, and for the most part, our kids are just kind of laser-focused right now.”
To watch the press conference Thursday at 9 a.m., click here.