Our Lady of Guadalupe Middle School Ends Distinctive Service to Southwest Detroit...

Our Lady of Guadalupe Middle School Ends Distinctive Service to Southwest
Detroit Girls

DETROIT, April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- An independent middle school that expanded
learning opportunities for southwest Detroit girls will close at the end of
this academic year for financial reasons, its sponsoring Catholic groups
announced today. Our Lady of Guadalupe Middle School for Girls provided
faith-based education for grades six through eight since 2001.

Four religious congregations of women: the Congregation of St. Joseph, the
Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Monroe, MI; the Society
of the Sacred Heart, United States Province; and the Sisters of Mercy of the
Americas, West Midwest Community, created the school as a ministry for girls
who could benefit from a single-gender and an individualized educational
environment and whose families had limited economic advantages. "We're proud
to have helped young women believe that they can achieve success, prepare for
high school and dream about their future," said Sister Gilmary Bauer of the
Sisters of Mercy. "It's vital to reach young girls in the core city early and
show them how education can help them succeed. We deeply regret that economic
conditions have caused an end to this wonderful educational experience for our
girls."

Sister Gilmary added: "Administrators will meet with the families of students,
as well as faculty and other interested parties, to explain the reasons for
the closure. In addition, we are working with the Archdiocese of Detroit to
assist students with options to continue their Catholic education."

Our Lady of Guadalupe, located at 4100 Martin Street, has focused on serving
residents from southwest Detroit. Currently, 43 Girls, are enrolled in
classes averaging 15 students each.

Though it was not sponsored by Catholic parishes, Our Lady of Guadalupe Middle
School (OLG) opened in August 2001 in a portion of St. Stephen Mary Mother of
the Church School, a former southwest Detroit parochial school. The founding
committee of 20 educators cited "an urgent need for a holistic, individualized
and integrated approach to education for urban middle-school girls."

OLG was designed with enrichment programs that included computer technology
tutoring, mentoring, workplace field trips, guest speakers, and a robust after
school program. A health sciences curriculum was developed with Oakwood
Healthcare System of Dearborn. The school's motto is "Values for a lifetime,"
its commitment to service learning, and its single-gender approach has become
increasingly popular nationwide -- spreading to some public school districts.

The school has graduated 48 eighth-grade girls, all went on to high school.
In addition, seven girls have graduated from high school and all but one of
those has enrolled in college.

"We have enriched the lives of dozens of southwest Detroit young women, and
even more, we have been enriched by them," said Sister Gilmary. "And we
truly believe in the mission of OLG Middle School. In the years to come, we
know that the stark financial realities that caused this will not keep us from
continuing to serve in some way this important community."

SOURCE Our Lady of Guadalupe Middle School for Girls

William J. Muir, SMZ PR Partners, +1-248-269-4366, bmuir@smz.com, for Our Lady
of Guadalupe Middle School for Girls