Rosary High School in Aurora, in a letter to parents, said its governing body will begin to explore “different opportunities and options” for the school’s future after Marmion Academy announced it will be switching to a co-ed model, but said it wanted to be clear that “Rosary is not closing.”
Marmion Academy in Aurora announced on Tuesday that it will start accepting female students as early as the 2026-27 school year after more than 90 years as single-sex, all-boys school.
The Rosary Governing Board’s exploration of options for the future of the school will be guided by “the reality that we face a potentially fundamental shift in Catholic high school education in the Fox Valley,” along with the school’s mission and the “charism of our founding Dominican Sisters,” the letter to parents said.
However, officials stressed that Rosary will not be closing, is not facing financial hardship and has no immediate plans to merge with any other institution.
The school continues to be supported by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, “whose foresight and planning has provided a strong financial foundation and ongoing sponsorship,” officials said in the letter to parents.
A separate statement from the Dominican Sisters of Springfield said the school has the sisters’ “full support as it plans for a vibrant future for young women.”
The Dominican Sisters of Springfield also support the Rosary Governing Board in its work to “maintain and deepen” the school’s “contribution to generations of young women to come,” according to the statement.
Part of that work will be in defining the school’s “ways of partnering” so that students have all of the opportunities in co-curricular and extracurricular activities “they have always known and deserved,” the statement said.
Going forward, Rosary’s governing body will be focused on “the nature of the ongoing collaboration” between the school and Marmion, the school’s letter to parents said.
“Our history is one of common faith, shared experiences, and overlapping families and supporters,” officials said in the letter. “In many cases, what has been good for Rosary has been for Marmion, and it is our intention to engage in efforts that honor decades of collaboration between schools.”
When Rosary Governing Board Chair Steve Hirner was asked if Marmion’s announcement was expected to have a negative impact on the school and what types of “different opportunities and options” were going to be explored for the school’s future, he declined to comment beyond what was in the school’s letter to parents and the statement from the Dominican Sisters of Springfield.
Rosary officials said in the letter that the school was notified about Marmion’s decision to go co-ed on Nov. 16, the same day that the Marmion Abbey chapter of monks voted to approve the planning and implementation of the co-ed hybrid model.
Marmion Academy’s Abbot Joel Rippinger also told Rosary and the Dominican Sisters of Springfield that the Marmion board is willing to continue its collaboration with Rosary High School, according to the letter.
According to Marmion spokesperson Michael McGrath, Rosary was kept informed about Marmion’s plans to go co-ed, and that communication with the school and the sisters has been ongoing for over two years.
“We hope and expect our special relationship with Rosary to continue. Rosary College Prep is a gift from God to our Catholic community and we value our relationship with them immeasurably,” McGrath said in an email on Friday. “As mentioned in a recent letter from Prioress Sister Mary Paul, Rosary College Prep will maintain their single sex identity and we will continue to support their mission.”
Marmion started actively considering a co-ed model “a couple of years ago,” according to McGrath.
“We talked to other Catholic schools who have gone through similar changes and had some good conversations and lots of prayer,” he said.
Under early outlines of the new model, freshmen and sophomores at Marmion Academy would attend single gender classrooms, while juniors and seniors would attend co-ed classrooms, according to the recent announcement. Other details are expected to be released over the next several months.
Rippinger said in that announcement that the move to a co-ed model will prepare students for a diverse and interconnected world, will meet the needs of the local Catholic community and will set the school up for long-term growth.
This does not mean that the school is struggling financially, according to McGrath. He said the school is on “very strong financial footing.
“However, it is no secret that enrollment has been a concern since the pandemic and most private schools are facing some worrying trendlines,” he said. “This change to a co-ed model will certainly provide opportunities for growth.”
Marmion Academy’s announcement on social media, which featured a video of Rippinger discussing the change, drew comments from both critics and supporters of the plan.
The Beacon-News reached out through Facebook to many who commented both against and in support of the change but did not receive any immediate responses.
While Rippinger pointed out in the video that the school has previously made a number of significant changes to its structure, including closing its residential program and transitioning from a military academy, some who commented on the Facebook post said the school was changing what made Marmion Academy unique and going against the school’s tradition.
Others who commented on the Facebook post said they were worried about Rosary High School because of the change.
A petition on Change.org was even briefly spread around asking Marmion Academy’s leadership to keep the school male-only.
Jacob Hutchison, the Marmion Academy graduate who started the petition, told The Beacon-News that, although Marmion has a lot of other great aspects, like the staff and the education, the brotherhood he felt at the school was a big piece of his experience, and he thinks the school’s change to a co-ed model will impact that brotherhood.
The petition received over 1,000 signatures in a single day before it was closed, and that took Hutchison by surprise.
“I think it definitely speaks to the closeness of the community that it was able to spread that quickly,” he said. “I wasn’t alone in my feelings.”
Although Hutchison doesn’t agree with what Marmion Academy is doing, he will always support the school, he said.
“My intent was not to minimize Marmion but to hopefully continue that great experience for future generations,” Hutchison said.
While most of the Facebook comments on the announcement post appeared to be against the decision, some in the comments were supporting it, saying either that they trust that the school’s leadership knows what it is doing or that the school needs to keep up with the changing times.
Marmion Academy graduate and Kane County Treasurer Chris Lauzen told The Beacon-News on Friday that he also trusts Rippinger’s judgment.
Lauzen gave two reasons: First, Rippinger has dedicated his life to serving God through Marmion’s and the Benedictines’ mission, and second because he “really is one of the smartest, most self-disciplined human beings I’ve ever met,” he said.
“I know that he knows all the facts, that he’s studied them, and so whatever conclusion he comes to, I trust his judgment,” Lauzen said.
Marmion Academy itself is receiving mostly positive feedback about the future move to a co-ed model, according to McGrath.
However, he said the school understands that change is difficult but that it is doing everything it can to make sure concerns are addressed and the change is managed efficiently.
“The bottom line is that the fundamental character of Marmion is not changing,” McGrath said. “Our values, rooted in the Catholic Benedictine tradition, of academic achievement, spiritual formation, and character development for our students do not change at all.”
rsmith@chicagotribune.com