BC Supports Local Catholic School

Photo Courtesy Peter McLaughlin

Boston College entered a historic partnership in 2006 when it joined forces with the Archdiocese of Boston and Saint Columbkille Parish to support Saint Columbkille School in Brighton. Four years later, the Saint Columbkille Partnership School is continuing its mission “to become one of the outstanding Catholic elementary and middle schools in the nation.”

Peter McLaughlin, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Saint Columbkille Partnership School, explained that the school was “going out of business” when the partnership formed in 2006.

“It became apparent that Saint Columbkille was not going to survive in the mode that it was in, faced with declining enrollment, deterioration of the building, [and] inadequate resources to provide for a top-quality school,” he said.

In 2005 the school faced an enrollment of only 180 students with few professional development opportunities and a facility that was “in dire need of repairs and improvement.”

“Fr. Leahy was motivated to get involved for a couple of reasons. [First,] he didn’t want a Catholic school in our backyard to fail. But a broader vision, and question in his mind, is ‘how can we pass along the faith if we don’t have Catholic schools?’”

Since 2006, Boston College contributed resources to the partnership that have contributed to the increasing academic quality of the institution. The Lynch School of Education has contributed faculty training, student teachers, and graduate enrollment so teachers can earn their master’s degree in education at no cost.

“Boston College also provided substantial financial resources initially and continues to do so. The facility alone has been approximately a million and a half dollars spent since the partnership was formed.”

St. Columbkille School in Brighton

“The reality is that now it costs approximately $7,000 to educate a student at Saint Columbkille and the tuition is far below that,” said McLaughlin. Tuition for K-8 students is $3,800 per year with discounts for larger families. About half of the families receive financial aid.

However, Saint Columbkille continues to face challenges as the partnership evolves. In its November 2009 progress report, the school cited the need to bridge the gap between the tuition collected and the actual cost of educating students.

“One challenge that we would have is the perception that Boston College is going to take care of all the financial demands of this school,” McLaughlin said.

The school is also trying to develop “best practices” for what has become a unique model of Catholic education in the United States. Professor Mary Walsh in the Lynch School of Education serves on the Board at Saint Columbkille, and said that teachers visit from other schools to learn from the successes of the partnership.

“Saint Columbkille is now becoming a model of best practices in education, not just Catholic education, but in education,” Walsh said.

McLaughlin explained that the partnership “differs from the traditional school model where the pastor has the primary operating responsibility for the school. With the Saint Columbkille model, the Board of Trustees of the Saint Columbkille Partnership School has the responsibility of managing and directing the affairs, business, and activities of the school.”

Students from Saint Columbkille are accepted to many secondary schools in the Boston area, including Boston College High School, Boston Latin Academy, Boston Latin School, Saint Sebastian’s School, and Trinity Catholic High School.

According to McLaughlin, the partnership has not only benefited the school but also the Brighton community. “As time has evolved, by and large people are very happy with Boston College’s involvement as the quality of the education has improved [and] enrollment has been increasing each year.”

McLaughlin said, “Boston College is perceived, certainly, as a positive influence on what has transpired at Saint Columbkille.”

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