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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From Our Lady of Good Counsel. February 12, 2015:

After a year of extensive efforts to find a new location, the Sisters of the Divine Compassion today advised the students, parents, faculty and staff that Our Lady of Good Counsel Academy High School in White Plains will cease operations in July at the conclusion of the current school year.

Working closely with the Archdiocese of New York, a concerted effort has begun to assist Good Counsel’s students in transitioning to other area Catholic high schools.  The High School community was notified of the decision this afternoon. (see attached letter)

In a letter to the members of the Good Counsel High School community (attached), the Divine Compassion Leadership Team expressed “deep regret and sadness” in having reached the decision to close the school.  Their letter emphasizes that “it has been a blessing, an honor and a privilege to sponsor and be involved” in the school’s mission.

“We know that that this decision is extremely painful for everyone affiliated with the school,” the letter states, but “after more than a year of due diligence, a suitable and affordable relocation site for the High School has not been found.  Multiple properties were investigated and eliminated as possible sites.”

The relocation effort began as a result of the Sisters decision to sell the 16-acre campus at 52 North Broadway where they have been located for 125 years.  The site includes 12 buildings and the annual operating costs have become financially unsustainable.  With many of the 80 Sisters now in their late 70s, 80s and 90s, their needs for health care and health-oriented living accommodations have become necessary.  Continuing to subsidize the High School and the Good Counsel Academy Elementary School, both of which are on the campus, was no longer feasible.

The Elementary School, which offers pre-k through eighth grade, was able to find a new home.  In September it will open two miles north at the former Holy Name of Jesus Elementary School in Valhalla.  Despite extensive efforts, a satisfactory new location for the High School could not be found.

Each of the schools has its own Board of Trustees and administration.  However, as the sponsoring organization, the Sisters of the Divine Compassion have the ultimate responsibility for the schools.  The schools are independent from the Archdiocese of New York.  Cardinal Timothy Dolan’s letter to the Good Counsel school community is attached.