What will St. Larry do?

[mullin17]

1. Accept those girls (Similar to Guerrin w/ Boys)
2. Buy the property? Preventing some charter school doesn't get it.
3. Wave goodbye.

http://patch.com/illinois/oaklawn/queen-peace-high-school-announces-closing-after-55-years

 

[McCaravan]

I thought they may be able to do what De La Salle did, but I don't know if they have the cash. De La Salle has a large alum with deep pockets including Mayor Daley so they had the cake, I don't know how deep the Laurence account runs

 

[DeanOfSelection]

just curious if StL went co-ed what class they would be. 4A? Wouldn't be doubled anymore.

 

[McCaravan]

Just asked a friend of mine whose son attends STL, a letter was sent stating they will be there to help Peace if needed but will not be going Co-Ed....St. Rita...cutting back enrollment....St. Rita is female....hmmmmm

 

[ramblinman_rivals165935]

1. Accept those girls (Similar to Guerrin w/ Boys)
2. Buy the property? Preventing some charter school doesn't get it.
3. Wave goodbye.

http://patch.com/illinois/oaklawn/queen-peace-high-school-announces-closing-after-55-years

Laurence has already issued a statement saying they will be of any assistance that they can to Peace, and that they are not going coed. The statement referred to enrollment gains in recent years that give them cause for optimism that what they are doing as an all-boy school is working.

 

[ramblinman_rivals165935]

just curious if StL went co-ed what class they would be. 4A? Wouldn't be doubled anymore.

Depends on how many girls they would enroll and what their coed, multiplied enrollment would be.

 

[i011763]

Depends on how many girls they would enroll and what their coed, multiplied enrollment would be.

If they were to go coed, then they would be subjected to the 1.65 multiplier but not the 2x for a single sex population

 

[DeanOfSelection]

they were subected to the 1.65 this year after winning a playoff game in 5A in 2015, hence why they got bumped.to 6A.

 

[DeanOfSelection]

Just asked a friend of mine whose son attends STL, a letter was sent stating they will be there to help Peace if needed but will not be going Co-Ed....St. Rita...cutting back enrollment....St. Rita is female....hmmmmm

Maybe. How many people want to send their daughters 2 miles from Englewood though.

 

[DeanOfSelection]

Depends on how many girls they would enroll and what their coed, multiplied enrollment would be.

I was just throwing the Peace number of 288 over there. I think they have 500 boys so now no 500 x 2 just 788

 

[ramblinman_rivals165935]

I was just throwing the Peace number of 288 over there. I think they have 500 boys so now no 500 x 2 just 788

x 1.65 = 1,300

That would have made Larry the second largest school in last fall's 5A field.

 

[DeanOfSelection]

x 1.65 = 1,300

That would have made Larry the second largest school in last fall's 5A field.

woulda had a title

 

[ramblinman_rivals165935]

I suspect that Laurence saw this coming and was prepared for it. I'm a little disappointed that they have chosen not to explore the DLS option. For all we know, perhaps they did explore that option and they rejected it.

This would have been an even better opportunity to do what DLS did given the proximity of the Peace campus to the Laurence campus. The two DLS campuses are two miles apart, whereas the Laurence and Peace front doors are a two minute walk apart.

Think of the economies of scale and other efficiencies that could be achieved with one administration, one cafeteria operation. one AD, one receptionist, one business office, one advancement office, one website, etc...

Combining two schools into one on that Laurence/Peace campus would have been a great opportunity to offer some very meaningful coed and single gender curricular and extra-curricular programming to students. Said programming would have set them apart from the other all-boys and coed Catholic schools that serve the southwest side and nearby suburbs. Instead, Laurence will continue to be one of several boys-only schools in that area.

As to the depth of the Laurence account to accomplish all this, everything would hinge on what the Dominican sisters would establish as the minimum financial package they would accept. Frankly, I gotta believe there are a few Laurence alumni/Peace alumnae married power couples out there who could, together, fund an initiative like this if they were approached in the right way.

 

[UlbKA91]

Burbank is "no joke" socioeconomically, but are they in need of what most think of with regard to a charter school (maybe UNO) ? -The "boundary" of such a charter might be extended up to Summit/Argo? That alone might have Lawrence and its neighbors of at least proactively buying the site.

Yeah I had the same thought re Rita as DOS:

Maybe. How many people want to send their daughters 2 miles from Englewood though.

 

[ramblinman_rivals165935]

Burbank is "no joke" socioeconomically, but are they in need of what most think of with regard to a charter school (maybe UNO) ?

Given the surrounding area, an Islamic school or community/cultural center is a more likely next occupant of that soon-to-be-vacated Peace facility.

 

[ignazio]

Given the surrounding area, an Islamic school or community/cultural center is a more likely next occupant of that soon-to-be-vacated Peace facility.

Good point. I wonder if the Sinsinawa Dominicans are so far gone that they'd rather enable girls to learn their proper role under Sharia Law before they'd let those men across the parking lot make use of their property.

 

[UlbKA91]

Good point. I wonder if the Sinsinawa Dominicans are so far gone that they'd rather enable girls to learn their proper role under Sharia Law before they'd let those men across the parking lot make use of their property.

I thought that "community" was headed more south and west i.e. Stagg-Andrew-Sandburg.

 

[ramblinman_rivals165935]

Good point. I wonder if the Sinsinawa Dominicans are so far gone that they'd rather enable girls to learn their proper role under Sharia Law before they'd let those men across the parking lot make use of their property.

I don't think that's fair.

That congregation invested heavily in Peace over the years, and they deserve to be fairly compensated for that through sale or rental revenue. Of course, that is not to say that the sisters should go out of their way to make things difficult for Larry, but the congregation has its own needs that would likely benefit from an infusion of revenue from the sale of that property...to whomever.

If Larry can't, or doesn't want, to come up with the cash to pay a fair price for the property, then let's not blame the sisters for that. Nor is it fair to think that the sisters should allow the property to be used or bought for next to nothing if for no other reason than to keep it out of the hands of those with a very different set of religious beliefs.

 

[eireog]

The Irish Christian brothers high schools have been reluctant to go coed. St Laurence would be the first in Chicago.

 

[ramblinman_rivals165935]

The Irish Christian brothers high schools have been reluctant to go coed. St Laurence would be the first in Chicago.

That's why Larry going coed, while maintaining certain aspects of single gender education, might have a certain appeal to those Irish Christian Brothers...just as it did to their French cousins at DLS.

 

[UlbKA91]

If they could stay at a price point not more than 80% of the tuition at Naz, I think they could pull off being co-ed. Though I wonder if the Naz expansion took a lot of their thunder from Clearing/GR and south of the BNSF Morton Township.

 

[ramblinman_rivals165935]

If they could stay at a price point not more than 80% of the tuition at Naz, I think they could pull off being co-ed. Though I wonder if the Naz expansion took a lot of their thunder from Clearing/GR and south of the BNSF Morton Township.

How much of those two schools' recruiting areas really overlap?

I would think that Laurence would consider Marist to be a stronger competitor in the Catholic coed marketplace than Naz. Laurence and Marist are much closer to each other than Laurence and Naz.

Regardless, if Laurence went the coed with a difference route like DLS, they would be able to position themselves differently from the fully coed environments at Marist and Naz. That difference might have a strong appeal to students and families who want to benefit from single gender curricular and extra-curricular programming but also have a healthy coed social interaction within an educational setting.

 

[UlbKA91]

How much of those two schools' recruiting areas really overlap?

I would think that Laurence would consider Marist to be a stronger competitor in the Catholic coed marketplace than Naz. Laurence and Marist are much closer to each other than Laurence and Naz.

Regardless, if Laurence went the coed with a difference route like DLS, they would be able to position themselves differently from the fully coed environments at Marist and Naz. That difference might have a strong appeal to students and families who want to benefit from single gender curricular and extra-curricular programming but also have a healthy coed social interaction within an educational setting.

What is the Rosary-Marmion approach? I know that several classes are coed, but the the schools remain separate.

 

[ramblinman_rivals165935]

What is the Rosary-Marmion approach? I know that several classes are coed, but the the schools remain separate.

They do not have an approach that involves one institution like DLS. They may well have certain classes (like band/instrumental music) that are available to students from both schools, but that is likely limited to a handful of classes and impact a relative few students at each school. The two schools are six miles apart.

 

[UlbKA91]

At least in the mid-1990s and on into about its recent football and baseball resurgence, Lawrence was viewed with some disdain by a lot of Marist's (and BR's) base south of 87th St. Lawrence was somewhat of a "effeminate, nerd, Po-lack, Mexican etc." school, Q of P may have faced the same doubts, but with a more dedicated alumnae base and at that time decent athletics, they were able to stave off a decline (also they absorbed much of post closure Maria and Lourdes). At the same time the south Berwyn-Cicero area (Odilo, Leonard) that had been sending students to SL/QP also started looking more to Nazareth.

 

[ramblinman_rivals165935]

At least in the mid-1990s and on into about its recent football and baseball resurgence, Lawrence was viewed with some disdain by a lot of Marist's (and BR's) base south of 87th St. Lawrence was somewhat of a "effeminate, nerd, Po-lack, Mexican etc." school, Q of P may have faced the same doubts, but with a more dedicated alumnae base and at that time decent athletics, they were able to stave off a decline (also they absorbed much of post closure Maria and Lourdes). At the same time the south Berwyn-Cicero area (Odilo, Leonard) that had been sending students to SL/QP also started looking more to Nazareth.

What you say may very well be true. Regardless, Laurence is still alive and kicking. Their enrollment is growing. They have raised 75% of the goal in their largest capital campaign ever. Their football program is experiencing success unheard of since their glory years of four decades ago. They must be doing something right.

You allude to a time when Peace was strong. I daresay that, back in the 90s and into the new millennium, even while other all-girls schools like Maria, Lourdes and Mt. Assisi were still open, there was a time when Peace was in a greater position of strength and promise than Laurence. Back then, Laurence was a football doormat. There was a nasty stretch of ten years without a playoff appearance. Then the doo-doo hit the fan for Peace around ten years ago, especially with respect to school leadership issues, and it was downhill from that point for the Pride at a time when Laurence began to turn things around.

 

[USD24]

How much of those two schools' recruiting areas really overlap?

I would think that Laurence would consider Marist to be a stronger competitor in the Catholic coed marketplace than Naz. Laurence and Marist are much closer to each other than Laurence and Naz.

Regardless, if Laurence went the coed with a difference route like DLS, they would be able to position themselves differently from the fully coed environments at Marist and Naz. That difference might have a strong appeal to students and families who want to benefit from single gender curricular and extra-curricular programming but also have a healthy coed social interaction within an educational setting.

Is that really much different than the relationship STL already had with Queen of Peace?

 

[Topiarydan1]

Heard they got 136 actual test takers- bottom line if they average 125 boys per class and run around 500 total then they're going to always be on the ledge. The building is too big to support only 500. I think they should bite the bullet and go co-ed.

 

[UlbKA91]

Heard they got 136 actual test takers- bottom line if they average 125 boys per class and run around 500 total then they're going to always be on the ledge. The building is too big to support only 500. I think they should bite the bullet and go co-ed.

They should read up on the latter years of Driscoll if they decide to do that.

 

[MC63]

I don't think that's fair.

That congregation invested heavily in Peace over the years, and they deserve to be fairly compensated for that through sale or rental revenue. Of course, that is not to say that the sisters should go out of their way to make things difficult for Larry, but the congregation has its own needs that would likely benefit from an infusion of revenue from the sale of that property...to whomever.

If Larry can't, or doesn't want, to come up with the cash to pay a fair price for the property, then let's not blame the sisters for that. Nor is it fair to think that the sisters should allow the property to be used or bought for next to nothing if for no other reason than to keep it out of the hands of those with a very different set of religious beliefs.

Is it really necessary to refer to St. Laurence as "St. Larry"?

I know that you're not the only one to do this, but it's extremely disrespectful no matter who's the culprit.

Would you like if it people referred to Loyola as "Lolly" or "LuLu"?

 

[McCaravan]

At least in the mid-1990s and on into about its recent football and baseball resurgence, Lawrence was viewed with some disdain by a lot of Marist's (and BR's) base south of 87th St. Lawrence was somewhat of a "effeminate, nerd, Po-lack, Mexican etc." school, Q of P may have faced the same doubts, but with a more dedicated alumnae base and at that time decent athletics, they were able to stave off a decline (also they absorbed much of post closure Maria and Lourdes). At the same time the south Berwyn-Cicero area (Odilo, Leonard) that had been sending students to SL/QP also started looking more to Nazareth.

When St. Denis and St. Tommy More closed, that cut off the cord from 2 STL bigger feeder schools on the South Side....throw in the deep decline of Queen of the Universe, St. Bedes, and Mary Star of the Sea it's really surprising STL survived...St. Dans, Janes and Syms have keep a steady stream going, and they are looking to get after Mount Greenwood and Beverly, but they really stayed afloat with going further east down 79th St. A lot of African American football players that normally may have chose Leo, SR, or MC were recruited and have excelled under Coach Blackmon. I was surprised by the 136, I Thought they were going to get closer to 180. If Coach Blackmon does to a bigger program, which I think he may very well do so sooner then later, then STL may be in deep trouble.

 

[SiuCubFan8]

Is it really necessary to refer to St. Laurence as "St. Larry"?

I know that you're not the only one to do this, but it's extremely disrespectful no matter who's the culprit.

Would you like if it people referred to Loyola as "Lolly" or "LuLu"?

Extremely disrespectful?????really?

 

[godfthr53]

Is it really necessary to refer to St. Laurence as "St. Larry"?

I know that you're not the only one to do this, but it's extremely disrespectful no matter who's the culprit.

Would you like if it people referred to Loyola as "Lolly" or "LuLu"?

Lighten up Francis

 

[UlbKA91]

The administration at the Wheaton version took that to heart.

 

[Thedoctor50]

They should read up on the latter years of Driscoll if they decide to do that.

I must be missing something, since Driscoll was always co-ed.

 

[GMAN81]

Is it really necessary to refer to St. Laurence as "St. Larry"?

I know that you're not the only one to do this, but it's extremely disrespectful no matter who's the culprit.

Would you like if it people referred to Loyola as "Lolly" or "LuLu"?

 

[USD24]

Is it really necessary to refer to St. Laurence as "St. Larry"?

I know that you're not the only one to do this, but it's extremely disrespectful no matter who's the culprit.

Would you like if it people referred to Loyola as "Lolly" or "LuLu"?

Do you have an issue with Providence being called Provi, St Patrick being called Pat's or St Ignatius being called Iggy? How about Brother Rice called Rice, Mt Carmel called Carmel, Joliet Catholic Academy called JCA? Most schools have abbreviated "nicknames" and very few people find it disrespectful.

 

[ignazio]

Wait, there's another St. Larry?

 

[GMAN81]

Wait, there's another St. Larry?

Yes indeed there is. Although Larry Fine was funnier, Larry Bird would destroy him in one-on-one.

 

[ramblinman_rivals165935]

Is that really much different than the relationship STL already had with Queen of Peace?

I don't know. Perhaps someone closer to those two school communities can weigh in on that.

What I do know is that, sometimes, relations between schools located adjacent to each other like Peace/Laurence, Holy Cross/Mother Guerin, St. Joe/IHM, Rice/McAuley can be strained. For years, there was talk of a merger between Cross and Guerin, but neither school wanted to be the acquired party. Guerin waited Cross out and Cross was the first to blink. The result is that both schools merged into Guerin from positions of relative weakness. In some respects, it's sort of like sibling rivalry, or the neighbors with whom you have a cordial, but arm's length relationship.