Holy Rosary Academy, High School relocating

    Holy Rosary Academy and Holy Rosary High School will move from their current location at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish on Esplanade Avenue to the site of the former Our Lady of Lourdes School on the corner of Napoleon Avenue and Freret Street in New Orleans, the Office of Catholic Schools announced May 10.
    The move, which will take place for the 2012-13 academic year, is being made to accommodate the needs of the student body and to allow for Our Lady of the Rosary Parish to expand its parish-based ministries, said  Dr. Jan Lancaster, superintendent of Catholic schools.
    “We have been investigating possibilities for a new site for the two schools for almost six months now,” Lancaster said. “I, along with the school administration, feel that this move is in the best interest of the Holy Rosary school community and will provide an opportunity for growth for the schools.”
Alternative learning styles
    Holy Rosary Academy and Holy Rosary High School were established as Catholic schools that provide special assistance for students with alternative learning styles.  The schools serve children from pre-K through high school that may not have success in traditional classroom settings and need more individual attention.
    The school will have a 10-year lease with Blessed Trinity Parish, a parish formed after Katrina from the parish communities of Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Matthias and St. Monica parishes.
    Those parishes closed after Katrina and are now worshipping as Blessed Trinity Parish, with Masses celebrated in the former St. Matthias Church.
    The school building at Our Lady of Lourdes was renovated and restored following Katrina. Until this school year, OLL had been leased to the Recovery School District as a charter school.
    Lancaster thanked Father David Robicheaux, the pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary, for providing a home for Holy Rosary for the past decade.
A warm welcome
    Father John Asare-Dankwah, pastor of Blessed Trinity, and the Blessed Trinity Pastoral Council have welcomed the new school, Lancaster said.
    “We are so grateful to them for that,” she said. “The Catholic church is committed to the mission and ministry of Holy Rosary Academy and Holy Rosary High School.”
    In a letter to the Holy Rosary Academy and High School communities, Archbishop Gregory Aymond said he was committed to the “success” and the “ministry” of the schools.
    “I want to see the students and, thereby, the schools, successful,” Archbishop Aymond said.
    Archbishop Aymond will dedicate the new school campus in the fall.
    Despite the move to a new location, Holy Rosary Academy and Holy Rosary High School will retain their names, at least for the foreseeable future.
    For more information about Holy Rosary Academy and Holy Rosary High School, call 482-7173 or go online to www.hra-hrhs.org.