Resurrection HS to continue as all-girls school as Christian Brothers named sponsor

by BRIAN NADIG

Resurrection Prep High School will remain an all-girls school at its current facility at 7500 W. Talcott Ave. under a plan in which the De La Salle Christian Brothers of the Midwest will take over the sponsorship of Resurrection in August.

In 2016 the Sisters of the Resurrection began exploring alternatives for the operation of the high school given that the number of sisters to support and run the school were declining, according to Resurrection College Prep president Sister Donna Marie Wolowicki. There are 24 members of the Sisters of Resurrection living in the Chicago area, with a median age of 75.

“Because of the school’s healthy enrollment, excellent academic outcomes and reputation in the community, the sisters were compelled to find a solution that would allow the school to continue beyond the presence and the ability of the Sisters of the Resurrection to manage it,” Wolowicki and Superintendent of Lasallian Education Scott Kier said in a May 15 statement.

Resurrection’s enrollment is projected to be more than 475 students next fall, up from the 2018-2019 school year.

Christian Brothers also is the sponsor of Saint Patrick High School, 5900 W. Belmont Ave., but there are no plans “for the foreseeable future” for Resurrection and Saint Patrick to merge into one co-ed school, but “opportunities for continuing partnership will be explored,” according to  “question and answer” statements on Resurrection’s Web site. The schools will continue to operate “independently with their own board of directors, administration, faculty and staff,” the Web site states.

The current faculty and staff at Resurrection will be returning for the 2019-20 school year, according to school officials.

Christian Brothers oversees 65 universities and 1,000 other schools across the world, including the De La Salle Institute in Chicago and Saint Joseph High School in Westchester.

The Sisters of Resurrection considered about a dozen entities for taking over the sponsorship of the high school but felt that Christian Brothers could best provide the resources and leadership needed to honor and maintain the tradition of the school, which opened in 1922, according to Wolowicki.

“Over the past 100 years, in addition to the high school, the sisters have, with the support of the surrounding communities, built Resurrection Medical Center, Resurrection Retirement Center and Resurrection Life Center,” the statement by Wolowicki and Kier statement said.

In 2017 the Sisters of Resurrection announced plans to sell the convent at 7432 W. Talcott Ave., and a developer plans to convert the convent into senior assisted living units.