The Roman Catholic Dioceses of Albany announced that Troy-based Catholic Central High School will merge with, and relocate to, St. Ambrose School in Latham. The new Catholic Central School will open its doors to grades pre-k to 12 in Sept. 2022.
Catholic Central High School currently serves grades 6-12, whereas St. Ambrose School is solely for elementary school students in grades pre-k to 5. This new pre-k through 12th grade model will allow students to have a full academic journey in one central location.
“The landscape of our Diocese has changed and so should Catholic education. This regional concept is an educational model we have studied, imagined, and hoped to pursue when the time and place was right. This is our moment to put our students at the leading edge of Catholic education,” said Giovanni Virgiglio, superintendent of RCDA Schools.
In recent years, a number of Diocesan schools have either consolidated, merged, or closed due to declining enrollment. In the late 2000s, the Diocese underwent a comprehensive restructuring plan entitled “Called To Be Church” that closed 33 churches and merged a number of schools within the 13 counties under the Diocese of Albany.
Architectural designs are still being finalized, with 2022-2023 being a transitional year. The 19-acre, 20,500-square-foot, Latham-based location will allow for multiple entrances, wings, and pods of classrooms where administrators can keep the three distinct age groups – pre-k and kindergarten, grades 1-5, and grades 6-12 – separated. A timeline for the renovation will be announced in the coming weeks.
The location, on Old Loudon Road off Exit 6 of I-87, will make the school easily accessible to families who reside in various parts of the Capital Region and could be a draw for families from many surrounding school districts, according to the Diocese.
For more information, or to reserve a spot for the 2022-2023 school year, please call St. Ambrose School at (518) 785-6453 or Catholic Central High School at (518) 235-7100. A website dedicated to Catholic Central School will be released in the coming weeks.
