ST. LOUIS — A century-old school celebrates its new path forward.
Rosati-Kain High School has been in the Central West End for decades and school leaders hope the legacy continues for years to come.
This is after shocking news was revealed at the end of September: The all-girls high school would be forced to close by the end of the school year because the Archdiocese of St. Louis has a new restructuring plan called "All Things New."
The plan addresses declining numbers and it would require the restructuring of parishes and schools.
But after three months of hard work, lease negotiations were made with the Archdiocese of St. Louis and Rosati-Kain gained a sponsor with St. Joseph Educational Ministries to become independent, known as Rosati-Kain Academy.
"It was sad and hard to hear at the time," Junior Talor Williams told 5 On Your Side " An alum is actually my own mother and it was uplifting and encouraging to hear that people like my mom and other people were working really hard to keep me and my friends in this building."
Cynthia Forcelledo Goudy is the chair of the alumnae-led group called RK Forever and the interim president of the new school.
"It’s a culmination of three months of really hard discussions," she said. "We are here for the young women in this building and in this gym and it’s good to be reminded of that today."
While leaders hustled to get to this point, they're already working on what's next:
- Rosati-Kain Academy already has 65% of its funding for next year’s operations
- The board has structured a 5-year financial plan
- It's also formed a 30, 60, 90-day plan to set the stage for strategic planning for long-term sustainability
- The group is working to increase the salaries of staff
- A committee has been formed to search for a president
Forcelledo Goudy said she will serve as long as they need her, but she's excited to see who's the long-term candidate as president.
She added the committee is looking for someone who can represent their mission and bleed purple and gold.
"The president is an outward figurehead and will guide the school under them, the curriculum, the faith formation, the teachers, and the fundraising," she noted.
Kate Rowley is a Rosati-Kain parent and she got involved with RK Forever.
One of her daughters graduated last year and she has another one at the school currently.
She said the school means so much to her family. And she knows how much work it took to keep the school open.
While it took a lot to get here, Rowley said they're just getting started.
"It’s amazing, it’s amazing," Rowley said. "We have a lot of work ahead of us. We still need a lot of people to come to the table with time, talent, resources but we continue to fight and we come together and we make this happen."
On July 1, the school will officially become Rosati-Kain Academy.