Helen, MD — Mother Catherine Spalding School will open its doors July 1, 2015 for the 2015/2016 school year with a new name, likely to be Mother Catherine Spalding Academy. Through consultation with the Archdiocese of Washington and with new direction, the community is establishing a nonprofit independent school under their own management, and will have authority over all financial and operational responsibilities. The new independent school will operate in the building that has been home to the Archdiocesan Catholic school for fifty years.
According to a Jan. 16 letter from Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, the
Archdiocese will not be financially or operationally involved in the new school, although the letter noted that the Cardinal has directed the Catholic Schools Office and other archdiocesan offices to begin work on the terms of the lease of the existing building to "show the Archdiocese's support for such a new, independent school proposed to be founded and operated by parents."