The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston manages and oversees several Catholic schools within its area.

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Chapel of St. Basil at University of St. Thomas

Tertiary education

Universities:

Primary and secondary education

K-12 schools

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Duchesne Academy

Secondary schools

High schools (9-12)

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O'Connell College Preparatory School

PK-9 schools

K-8 schools

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Our Lady of Guadalupe School
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The Regis School of the Sacred Heart
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St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School

Primary schools

PK-6 schools
K-6 schools
K-5
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St. Charles Borromeo School, Houston
  • St. Mary of the Purification School (Houston)[26]

Other facilities

Former schools

In 2020 the archdiocese closed four schools due to complications from the COVID-19 pandemic,[28] along with reduced funds from donation programs and a decreased number of students.[29] Each school had a building utilization of about 40% and enrollment below 100; the four combined had 257 students.[28]

Universities

Former high schools

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Dominican High School (former building)

Former K-8 schools

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Holy Name School
  • Holy Name School (Houston) (closed in spring 2009)[34]
  • Holy Rosary Catholic School (Midtown Houston) - opened circa 1913 and closed in 1963. The establishment of freeways caused suburbanization, and therefore population loss, to occur in the area. Initially the parish kept the school building in hopes that the school would be re-established, but it was to be demolished in 2003 so a parish hall could be built there. Tom Bass and Gale Storm were alumni.[35]
  • Northwoods Catholic School (unincorporated Harris County, Spring address) (closed)
  • Our Mother of Mercy School (Houston) (closed in spring 2009)[34] - Merged with St. Francis of Assisi School[36]
  • Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School (Houston) - It was about 3 miles (4.8 km) from Hobby Airport.[37] It opened in 1954,[38] and closed in 2020.[28]
  • St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School (Houston) - In Kashmere Gardens,[39] it was established in 1955,[40] and closed 2020.[28] Parent Sharita Palmer Mayo, as paraphrased by Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio of The New York Times, stated that the school "had been severely damaged by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, but community members had worked hard to support rebuilding efforts and [reopen]"; the archdiocese attributed the closure to COVID-19.[41]
  • St.Pius V Catholic School (Pasadena) - Opened in 1947,[42] and closed 2020[28]
  • St. Peter the Apostle - closed 2019 - in the Third Ward; before its closure was a PreK-8 school; peak enrollment was about 600 students in the 1960s[43] Prior to 2009 St. Peter was a middle school with grades 6–8; that year St. Philip Neri School merged into St. Peter, making it PK-8.[44] From 2014 to 2019 enrollment declined by 70%.[29] In 2019 St. Peter the Apostle had 33 students; in May 2019 the Archdiocese announced that it was going to close. Debra Haney, the superintendent of schools of the Galveston-Houston diocese, stated that the enrollment decreased due to the proliferation of charter schools.[43]
  • Queen of Peace Catholic School (East End, Houston) - opened on September 8, 1947 in a four classroom building. The official website of the school stated that the school being shuttered was a possibility in the 1980s as the number of students fell significantly.[45] It closed in 2020.[28]

Northwoods Catholic School

Northwoods Catholic School, a private Catholic school in the Spring area, was located off of the intersection of Farm to Market Road 2920 and Gosling Road,[16] in a 51-acre (21 ha) campus.[46] It used a curriculum from the Legionaries of Christ. Established circa 1999, it was not affiliated with the archdiocese.[16] It initially had 13 students,[46] and was in a facility in the Ponderosa Forest neighborhood,[47] an apartment clubhouse temporarily used as a school.[48]

In 2003 it had 200 students. By that year its permanent facility opened; it had a price tag of $6 million.[48] In 2004 it had 250 students.[49] In 2005 academic dean Susan Horne became the principal, and the previous principal, Joe Noonan, became Northwood's executive director.[47] In 2010 it had about 230 students, with about 40% of them originating from The Woodlands. The building's first floor had 44,000 square feet (4,100 m2) of space. Its 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) second floor, with offices, computer and science labs, and a library,[46] was blessed on August 13, 2010 and opened on August 18 of that year. It was built in three months.[50]

In the 2015–2016 school year, the school's final year of operation, it had 268 students; it was projected to have 160 students for the following school year. The school announced on May 4, 2016 that it was closing, and a shrinking budget and declining enrollment were cited as reasons.[16] It closed on June 30, 2016.[51] An area developer who was buying land from the school got into a legal dispute with the owner of the land and with a Catholic priest.[52][53]

Former junior high schools

  • O'Connell Junior High School[54]
  • Seton Junior High, Houston (closed 2009)

Former primary schools

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Sacred Heart School in Galveston
  • All Saints School (Houston) (closed 1986)
  • Blessed Sacrament School (Houston) (closed 1991)
  • St. Charles Borromeo School (Houston) (Spring 2009)[34] - Merged with Seton Junior High School, forming Assumption Catholic School[36][55] After Hurricane Ike in 2008 damaged the Borromeo building, students began sharing space with Seton, which at the time was not yet built to accommodate younger students.[56]
  • Christ the King School (Houston, PreK-2)[57]
  • Dominican Grade School (girls, Galveston) - consolidated into Galveston Catholic School[54][58]
  • Holy Rosary School (Galveston) (closed 1979)
  • Immaculate Conception School (Houston) (closed 1969)
  • Immaculate Heart of Mary School[32]
  • St. Joseph School (Houston) (closed 1967)
  • Our Lady of Guadalupe School (Galveston, closed 1986) - consolidated into Galveston Catholic School[54][58]
  • St. Nicholas School (Houston) (closed 1971)
  • St. Patrick Grade School (Galveston, 1881–1986) - consolidated into Galveston Catholic School[54][58]
  • St. Philip Neri School (Houston) (Spring 2009)[34] - It was in proximity to South Park and Sunnyside.[44] It merged with St. Peter the Apostle Middle School.[36][59]
  • Sacred Heart School (Galveston)[60]
  • St. Mary's Catholic School - consolidated into Galveston Catholic School

See also

References

Further reading

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