-
Saint Pio Catholic School is a Roman Catholic Elementary School in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia located in South Philadelphia.
In December 2010, Cardinal Justin Rigali of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia established the Blue Ribbon Commission, a 16 member advisory group of business and community leaders from the Philadelphia region. The goal of the Commission was to establish a multi-year strategic plan to realign and strengthen Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Their duties included the examination of programs at all levels with respect to demographics, staffing, facilities and financing in order to assure a sustainable Catholic education system in the Archdiocese. the Commission met monthly throughout 2011.
In September 2011, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput succeeded Cardinal Rigali as Archbishop of Philadelphia and expressed his support for the continued work of the Commission. The Commission presented its report to the Archdiocese in January 2012. this report recommended the closing or merger of 45 parish schools and four archdiocesan high schools. An appeals process was put in place for those parishes wishing to contest the recommendations.
In this report, the Commission recommended the closing of Holy Spirit and Saint Richard parish school crafted ls along with three other parish elementary schools in South Philadelphia. These schools would be merged to form a regional school at 10th and Bigler Streets, the site of the former Stella Maris Parish School.
After listening to his parishioners and school families, Father William C. Kaufman, pastor of Saint Richard at the time, decided to appeal the Commission's recommendation. An appeal was crafted, proposing the merger of Holy Spirit and Saint Richard schools at the Saint Richard School site. The proposal detailed specific ways that this merger could produce a school that was financially sustainable without sacrificing Catholic identity or academic excellence in addition to saving faculty and staff jobs.
In February 2012, Archbishop Chaput granted this appeal. An Implementation Committee was established whose members included the pastors, principals, business managers and several parishioners from both Holy Spirit and Saint Richard parishes.
The responsibilities of the Committee included oversight of decisions such as naming the school, establishing tuition policies and implementing transition procedures. A primary goal of the implementation Committee was the timely and accurate communication of information to parishioners. Thi was accomplished through the communication of Committee minutes in the parish bulletins, on the parish websites and through the school Communication Envelopes to school families.
Throughout the spring and summer of 2012, much work was accomplished in preparation to open the new regional school. Faculty and staff were hired and building improvements such as painting, carpeting and cleaning were completed.
On July 6, 2012, Father Michael Reilly succeeded Father Kaufman as pastor of Saint Richard Parish. Father Reilly and Father Mark Kunigonis, pastor of Holy Spirit Parish, comprised the governance of Saint Pio Catholic Regional School at that time.
Saint Pio Catholic Regional School welcomed its first students on September 5, 2012. An Advisory Board and transitional Home and School Board were established in the fall of 2012.