  Maxcarey Member Username: Maxcarey Post Number: 121 Registered: 07-2006 |
You are correct about DeBusschere and Austin. Austin closed in 1977. Most of the students went to DLS and their closure actually put off DLS move to Warren a few more years (finally moved in 1982) I was told once, but can't confirm, that much of the old building was used in the construction of the retirement complex currently on the site. | ||
Maxcarey Member Username: Maxcarey Post Number: 122 Registered: 07-2006 |
Apologies if this was already discussed and not really a East side thing, but it appears that the old Holy Redeemer High School will be used for the first Catholic High School to open in Detroit in many years: http://www.aodonline.org/AODOn line/AODOnline.htm | ||
Ravine Member Username: Ravine Post Number: 1013 Registered: 01-2006 |
Anyone familiar with Sacred Heart, of Roseville? Is that church still open, and does it still have that immense crucifix? | ||
Maxcarey Member Username: Maxcarey Post Number: 123 Registered: 07-2006 |
Sacred Heart is still open. I haven't been in there in years, but here is their mass schedule: Mass Schedule: All Seasons Saturday 5:00 p.m. Sunday 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. Monday 9:00 a.m. Tuesday 9:00 a.m. Wednesday 9:00 a.m. Friday 9:00 a.m. Holydays 9:00 a.m.; 7:00 p.m. Both the elementary school and high school closed in 1971. It appears that the building that once housed the grade school is still used by the parish, the high school was torn down and is now the site of a cemetary. Here are some photos of the groundbreaking: http://s138.photobucket.com/al bums/q242/maxcarey/?action=vie w¤t=GroundBreak.jpg And of the High School: http://s138.photobucket.com/al bums/q242/maxcarey/?action=vie w¤t=HS.jpg | ||
Lmr Member Username: Lmr Post Number: 53 Registered: 03-2007 |
Maxcarey - I saw the article about the Cristo Rey high school opening in the Holy Redeemer HS building. That is good news, I think this could work very well. There is a Cristo Rey high school in Minneapolis in an area somewhat similar to SW Detroit and it has worked out well. | ||
Taj920 Member Username: Taj920 Post Number: 224 Registered: 01-2004 |
In the mid 1970s, Austin and U-D Jesuit did a market study. The results prompted Austin to close because there wasn't a long-term need for the school on the eastside. The study proved to be true -- all the eastside schools are gone now. The new catholic high school that is being built in Macomb township will be called Austin and run by the same priests who ran the old Austin. | ||
Swiburn Member Username: Swiburn Post Number: 161 Registered: 07-2006 |
Thanks for the interesting post, Taj. Using the name "Austin" will be a nice connect with the past. I had no idea that they were building a Catholic school in Macomb county, but there certainly is a large enough Catholic population there to support one. The western counties have Mercy, Ladywood, Catholic Central and the north has Marian and Brother Rice. | ||
Ravine Member Username: Ravine Post Number: 1015 Registered: 01-2006 |
Maxcarey, thank you for your reply & photos. | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2350 Registered: 10-2003 |
Many St. Clare alumni went on to attend Austin High School until it closed in 1978. As such, there has been an Austin High School history display inside the parking lot entrance of the church. It was a couple large display cases with lots of photos, memorabilia, and newspaper clippings. | ||
Genius Member Username: Genius Post Number: 30 Registered: 03-2005 |
The Augustinian order has run St. Clare of Montefalco for many years, as well as the former Austin High. They have signed on to run Austin Catholic Academy on 23 Mile in Macomb Township, if it ever gets built. Here's a link to an article from earlier this year: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=/20070115/S CHOOLS/701150341 | ||
Swiburn Member Username: Swiburn Post Number: 162 Registered: 07-2006 |
Thanks, Genius, for the update on Austin. I know that Flint Powers Catholic wants to build a new high school, but they have money problems,too. | ||
Maxcarey Member Username: Maxcarey Post Number: 125 Registered: 07-2006 |
Here is the website for the new Austin school: http://www.austincatholicacade my.org/ IIRC, they were originally supposed to break ground in the fall of 2005 or 2006. That has not happened yet to date. Five surrounding parishes are among the group raising funds for this school: St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Peter, St. Lawrence, St. Isidore, St. John Vianney. With Regina moving to Warren this fall, I don't know how much, if any, impact that will have on a co-ed school at the 22-Card location. | ||
Swiburn Member Username: Swiburn Post Number: 163 Registered: 07-2006 |
While we're writing on Catholic schools moving to the suburbs, here are some past moves: Sacred Heart: Jefferson Ave to Woodrow Wilson Ave to Blm Hills, l955 Mercy: to Farmington from Southfield Dr Catholic Central: Parsons Ave to W. Outer Dr. to Livonia De La Salle: Glenfield St. to Warren Closed entirely: Immaculata, Girls Catholic Central, Dominican,Rosary, Felician Academy and Bishop Borgess. Was Bishop Gallagher in Detroit? That's closed, too. | ||
Genius Member Username: Genius Post Number: 31 Registered: 03-2005 |
Other recent Detroit Catholic high school closings include St. Martin De Porres, East Catholic, St. Florian, Holy Redeemer, Benedictine, and Dominican. And in the near suburbs: Notre Dame, St. Clement, St. Alphonsus and St. Agatha (renamed St. Katherine Drexel its last year). Bishop Gallagher was in Harper Woods, it became Trinity three years before closing. Bishop Borgess was just outside the Detroit border, in Redford Twp. | ||
Maxcarey Member Username: Maxcarey Post Number: 126 Registered: 07-2006 |
Some 2007 Archdiocese of Detroit closures: Immaculate Conception Ukranian High School - Warren St. Albert the Great Elementary - Dearborn Heights St. Angela Elementary - Eastpointe St. Cyprian - Riverview St. Mary Magdelen Elementary - Hazel Park St. Stanislaus Kostka - Wyandotte Our Lady of Loretto - Redford Township Add to that the closure of Ascension Parish in Warren on June 2 | ||
Lmr Member Username: Lmr Post Number: 54 Registered: 03-2007 |
I am surprized that St. Stan's in Wyandotte survived this long. It's in a very old part of the city. Back when Wyandotte Catholic Consolidated School formed in 1970 (from St. Pat's, St. Joseph, and St. Elizabeth), St. Stan's was invited to be part of that but they declined and decided to continue on their own (which was a good decision at the time). St. Stan's was always a tenacious little school that hung on despite what some people expected. I would imagine that some of the St. Stan's students will go to Mt. Carmel this fall since those are both heavily Polish churches. I'm more surprized that St. Cyprian's in Riverview is closing, it's in an area of mostly 1950's and 60's housing unlike St. Stan's which is in an area of closer to 1850's and 60's housing. St. Cyp's was/is one of the feeder schools for Gabriel Richard. I think St. Cyp's only had 85 to 90 students enrolled for next year, and that number was less than St. Stan's had. That is also surprizing. | ||
Swingline Member Username: Swingline Post Number: 859 Registered: 11-2003 |
For all of their history, parish schools have been subsidized by their parishes. Generations of middle class Catholic families have been shielded from the true cost of the fine education that these parish schools have provided. The parents of those in this thread who are expressing memories of eastside Catholic schools in the 60's and 70's were only paying $200-$400 or so in tuition with big discounts for multiple children (standard Catholic family size in those days was at least 3 kids). Pocket change even in those days. The tuition at many of the recently closed schools in this area was $4000 or less. But what does it actually cost to educate a child at a Catholic school? Even with the smaller salaries and not all that lavish benefits paid to the teachers and staff, $4000 per student didn't even cover these institutions' personnel expense, not to mention the cost of supplies and operating their facilities. Public schools in Michigan, even with their economies of scale, average about $8000 cost per student. No small Catholic school is going to be able to do much better, and the cost per student in the smaller schools was probably even more. So that's what it costs. It is what it is. Nobody has gotten rich working a career as a Catholic school educator. The gap between $4000 and $8000 has to be made up somehow, or the math doesn't work and the school can't stay open. Most parishes don't have the resources anymore to subsidize their schools to the tune of several hundred thousand dollars. The money either has to come from fundraising or through increased tuition. Too many middle class Catholic families have made the decision not to spend the money. They have effectively said that we have a price point. $3000 or $4000, well maybe that's doable. $8000 or $9000, forget about it. The result, even schools at parishes with several hundred families continue to close and a proud academic tradition battles to hold on. | ||
Whithorn11446 Member Username: Whithorn11446 Post Number: 125 Registered: 03-2007 |
"The parents of those in this thread who are expressing memories of eastside Catholic schools in the 60's and 70's were only paying $200-$400 or so in tuition with big discounts for multiple children (standard Catholic family size in those days was at least 3 kids). Pocket change even in those days." The $200-$400 tuition is defiantly much lower than the cost today even when accounting for inflation. However, I disagree with you in a couple of respects to the pocket change comment and parents being shielded from the cost. First, far fewer women worked back then so in a lot of cases it was one household income. Secondly, since nuns and Christian brothers were in much greater supply to teach that reduced the cost greatly. Third, a good deal of the Catholic population were still "working class" and not "middle class" in those years. Working on the assembly line at Dodge Main in the mid 1960's did not necessarily result in a new ranch house with an attached garage in Warren. | ||
Swiburn Member Username: Swiburn Post Number: 164 Registered: 07-2006 |
I agree with Whithorn. The cheap labor of the nuns and priests are what made those schools happen. If they had to pay lay teachers, they may never have opened in the first place. Nowadays the schools seem to be thriving only in areas like Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills where $7-8,000 a year still isn't much out of a family income. But then again, it really all comes down to priorities-we had two kids in a Catholic high school at the same time on one income-sure we did without new cars and Disneyworld, but it was worth it. Let's hope the new Cristo Rey system does well in Detroit. | ||
Lmr Member Username: Lmr Post Number: 55 Registered: 03-2007 |
I agree that the cheap labor of the sisters/brothers/priests is what made the Catholic schools of the past possible. When I was in 1st grade at St. Joseph's in Wyandotte in 1964 the tuition was $40 per year...no joke. There were 54 students in my 1st grade class and quite a few came from families of 6 to 12 kids. I was an only child! Today my daughter's Catholic elementary school costs $3400 per year (and I am fully aware that is not the total cost!), there is a maximum of 20 students per class, and most of the families have 1 or 2 kids. We send our daughter to Catholic school because we really like the quality of education she gets there and the public schools around us seem to have a lot of nutty policies that we don't have to deal with. | ||
Maxcarey Member Username: Maxcarey Post Number: 130 Registered: 07-2006 |
Ravine - Missed your post, you are most welcome. I was unable to get inside church this week to confirm if the crucifix that you mentioned is still there. Hope that these shots of the church and elementary school will suffice: http://s138.photobucket.com/al bums/q242/maxcarey/?action=vie w¤t=IM002509.jpg http://s138.photobucket.com/al bums/q242/maxcarey/?action=vie w¤t=IM002510.jpg http://s138.photobucket.com/al bums/q242/maxcarey/?action=vie w¤t=IM002512.jpg http://s138.photobucket.com/al bums/q242/maxcarey/?action=vie w¤t=IM002511.jpg | ||
Maxcarey Member Username: Maxcarey Post Number: 140 Registered: 07-2006 |
Some discussion of St. Brendan's in the St. Matthew's thread for you eastsiders: https://www.atdetroit.net/forum/mes sages/5/92431.html?1183731639 | ||
Swiburn Member Username: Swiburn Post Number: 170 Registered: 07-2006 |
Thanks, Max, for the photos. A few questions: 1. Anybody lined up to buy the St. Brendan's? It looks like it's starting to decline with the paint falling off and a broken window. 2. Is the Detroit School of Industrial Arts still operating out of the school? 3. Any pictures of St. Augustine? I believe that's closed,too. There was also a church that closed because of planned expansion of City Airport, and then, of course, nothing happened at the airport. | ||
Maxcarey Member Username: Maxcarey Post Number: 147 Registered: 07-2006 |
Missed the questions here Swiburn 1. Haven't heard anything new about the church. 2. Yes, it does appear the school is still operating there 3. I don't have anything of St. Augustine - yet. It is still standing and plan to take more pictures later this summer. 4. The church/school that you may be thinking of is Holy Name at 6 and Van Dyke? Here are some shots of it: School Auditorium (a very impressive structure) http://www.flickr.com/photo_zo om.gne?id=489026848&size=l School: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zo om.gne?id=489026916&size=l http://www.flickr.com/photo_zo om.gne?id=489026916&size=l http://www.flickr.com/photo_zo om.gne?id=489026854&size=l http://www.flickr.com/photo_zo om.gne?id=489026868&size=l Church: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zo om.gne?id=489026846&size=o | ||
Swiburn Member Username: Swiburn Post Number: 179 Registered: 07-2006 |
Thanks, max, for adding to Detroit's historical record with these church and school pictures. I look forward to more of them. The Holy Name of Jesus School looks very well kept up. I wonder if some group uses it? Or else the "Shield of Faith" churchgoers are doing a great job, compared to say, the closed St. Stanislaus disaster. Thanks again and we look forward to more photos. | ||
Swiburn Member Username: Swiburn Post Number: 181 Registered: 07-2006 |
I noticed in an earlier post that a "Regina" High School is moving to Warren. Is that in Harper Woods? Why are they moving to Warren? Is Harper Woods declining in population? Also, the Cristo Rey high school planned for the west side will be the only Catholic h.s. on that side of Detroit, is that correct? | ||
Kathleen Member Username: Kathleen Post Number: 2375 Registered: 10-2003 |
When the Regina HS move to Warren was announced in early 2006, it was noted that..."more than 60 percent of its 496 students come from Macomb County. Similar trends helped do in Regina's long-time neighbor, the all-boys Notre Dame High School, last year." Full text of announcement: http://www.aodonline.org/AODOn line/News+++Publications+2203/ Michigan+Catholic+News+12203/2 006+The+Michigan+Catholic+News +13857/060217+Regina+High+plan s+2007+move+to+Warren.htm Last weekend was the moving sale. They are well on the way to opening day of the school year at the new campus in late August. | ||
Swiburn Member Username: Swiburn Post Number: 182 Registered: 07-2006 |
Thanks, Kathleen. I think when Detroit still had its' residency rule that a lot of Regina's students came from Detroit. De La Salle is in Warren already, so the county probably couldn't support another boys' high school like Notre Dame, too. | ||
Maxcarey Member Username: Maxcarey Post Number: 150 Registered: 07-2006 |
I'm sorry that I missed the moving sale, I would have loved to have been there. When Notre Dame closed, that really got the ball rolling for the Regina move. The two were always thought of together for the most part and when ND left much of that identity went with it. When I was growing up, I was a student at St. Peter across 8 Mile. Nearly everyone went to either Regina or Notre Dame, especially all of those that were living on Eastburn, Edmore, Bringard, Carlisle and further south like Tacoma, State Fair, etc. Nearly everyone from my grade school lived on one of those streets. Unfortunately, add to that the perception that the area is not safe and that suburbanites in upper Macomb County don't want to drive "down there." Hell, for some even mid-Warren is "down there." Anyway, I can only imagine that the move will be a positive one for Regina, but it will be a little sad to see that chapter come to an end. All of the Catholic schools in Harper Woods are now gone (Elementary - St. Peter, Queen of Peace, High - ND, Regina, Bishop Gallagher) | ||
Newport1128 Member Username: Newport1128 Post Number: 72 Registered: 05-2007 |
Is Dominican High School on Whittier near Harper in Detroit still open? Thanks. |
