Conshohocken Catholic to Close and Merge with King of Prussia School

The Conshohocken Catholic School was included on the list of closing and mergers released today by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  The school is to close and merge with Mother of Divine Providence in King of Prussia.  As reported by 6ABC Action News:

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia plans to close four Roman Catholic high schools and close or combine 44 elementary schools due to rising costs and low enrollment, officials said Friday.

The recommendations by an archdiocesan task force stem from a yearlong analysis of the struggling Catholic education system, which includes 178 schools in the city and four suburban counties.

Schools will have the opportunity to appeal the decision, however, the Archdiocese stressed that it will need compelling evidence that the task force overlooked important details when making its decision.

Catholic education in Conshohocken has suffered a series of merges over the years.  According to Jack Coll’s Remembering Conshohocken and West Conshohocken, Catholic education in Conshohocken began at Saint Matthew’s Parish in 1864.  This school grew and eventually added a high school.  This high school would eventually change its name from St. Matthew’s High School to Archbishop Kennedy High School in 1966.  In 1993, Archbishop Kennedy of Conshohocken closed and merged with Bishop Kenrick of Norristown to form Kennedy-Kenrick High School in Norristown.  In 2010, Kennedy-Kenrick merged with another school to form Pope John Paul II High School in Upper Providence.

Parents who wish to continue providing their children a Catholic education will have to choose between attending the merged school in King of Prussia or changing parishes or pay a higher tuition rate to attend Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic School in Plymouth Meeting, which two schools from East Norriton are merging with, or Saint Philip Neri Catholic School in Lafayette Hill.