New Stouffville Catholic high school set to move forward after OMB delay

Yorkregion.com
July 11, 2018
Simon Martin

The opening of a new Catholic high school just got a little bit closer in Stouffville.

The York Region District Catholic School Board announced the Ontario Municipal Board removed a portion of the future development, which includes the future school site, from the land under appeal at the OMB.

“We were very pleased to receive the news from the Ontario Municipal Board regarding the site that we have identified for our newest school. This news means that we can finally begin with the design process,” says Elizabeth Crowe, chair of the board. “We are very fortunate to have growing school communities in the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville and our families are looking forward to new Catholic schools and a child care centre in their community.

The multi-use school will consist of a secondary school, an elementary school and a child care centre. The combined facility will hold 1,400 pupil places, provide families with the opportunity to attend a local Catholic secondary school and assist in alleviating enrolment pressures at the existing Catholic elementary schools in Stouffville. 

The site that has been identified for this facility, located on the east side of Ninth Line and south of Bethesda Road, is situated in proximity to existing and future residential development. On June 15, the OMB removed a portion of the future development, which includes the YCDSB’s future school site, from the current land that remains under appeal with the OMB. 

At a public meeting April 10, the board says it hopes to open the school in 2020-2021. There will be two schools on the same site as part of the proposal, one that goes from kindergarten to Grade 6, while the secondary school will go from Grade 7 to 12. The schools will have different names. As part of the reshuffling, all the other Catholic elementary school in Stouffville would drop grades 7 and 8. Board chair Elizabeth Crowe said the plan will alleviate much of the overcrowding that is being experienced at local elementary schools.

The Ministry of Education has provided the board $33 million for the project.

The names for the new schools were revealed to be St. Katharine Drexel Catholic High School and Blessed Chiara Badano Catholic Elementary School. A chapel in the high school will be named after Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, the patron of World Youth Day.

“A school is the heart of a community and it was wonderful to witness board and school staff come together with parents and Father Michael Hughes from St. Mark’s Parish to select names for our elementary and secondary schools,” education director Ab Falconi said. 

St. Katharine Drexel is the second American-born saint to be canonized by the Catholic Church. She was an heiress who became a religious sister and a brilliant educator. In 1915, Drexel founded Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Catholic University in the United States for African-Americans. By the time of her death in 1955, she had more than 500 sisters teaching in 63 schools throughout the country and she established 50 missions for native Americans in 16 different states.