Other schools enrollments to swell with Driscoll transferees

Many Driscoll Catholic High School parents will send their children to schools as far away as Arlington Heights, Elgin and possibly even LaGrange Park next fall, vowing to continue their religious education.

More than 200 students had just weeks to decide where to continue their education after the Christian Brothers, who run Driscoll for the Joliet Diocese, decided last month to close the Addison school.

Administrators from these local high schools released their approximate transfer rates from Driscoll: 85 students are enrolled at Immaculate Conception in Elmhurst, 40 families are considering St. Edward Central Catholic High School in Elgin, 15 enrolled at St. Viator in Arlington Heights, and approximately 15 are considering the public Addison Trail High School.

The Catholic school closest to Driscoll is longtime athletic rival Montini in Lombard. Officials at Montini, which also is run by the Christian Brothers, said they anticipate approximately 30 Driscoll transfers.

After some parents said they did not consider Montini because it is run by the Christian Brothers, Montini President Jim Segredo said this may account for Immaculate Conception getting the lion's share of applications.

"Unfortunately, I think when a school is closed there is a lot of emotion; people are upset and a lot of people are blaming the Brothers," Segredo said. "Do I agree with that? No. The Brothers took a long time to make this decision, and no one wants the school to be closed. It's unfortunate because from our perspective the transition would be easier because, as a LaSallian school like Driscoll, we have the same philosophy of education."

Some parents, such as Jerri Yruegas of Elk Grove Village, said choosing a new school was an emotional roller coaster. Her son, Joey, will finish his freshman year at Driscoll next week.

"I thought Driscoll closing was traumatic enough, but the search and decision of a new school has been an even worse event for many families," she said. "We are already emotionally drained from the Save Driscoll campaign that was unsuccessful and then have to jump full force into a huge decision."

The Save Driscoll campaign was spearheaded by parents, staff members and alumni to raise $1 million in one month to save 43-year-old Driscoll, which suffered from sagging enrollment and the recession. But the Christian Brothers said even that effort was not enough to turn the tide.

Yruegas said Joey wanted to attend Elk Grove High School where he has friends, but she insisted he continue his Catholic education at St. Viator in Arlington Heights. Many Driscoll parents want their children to continue receiving religious education and attending smaller classes.

Gene and Toby Faut, Driscoll parents who helped lead the Save Driscoll campaign, considered shuttling their freshman son, Jackson, from their Roselle home to Nazareth Academy in LaGrange Park. Instead, they chose Immaculate Conception.

"We've got great public schools in our area, but we believe this is what is best for our family and his education," Gene Faut said.

Interest in public high schools like Addison Trail, which sits just blocks south of Driscoll on Lombard Road, has been relatively low and will demand minimal adjustment from the school. St. Viator officials also said they can easily accommodate the new students.

For schools like Immaculate Conception, the impact of Driscoll transfers will be major. Enrollment at Immaculate Conception will jump by a third, from approximately 260 to 345 students, school spokeswoman Lisa Molloy said.

"We want to keep the integrity of our school and maintain the standards we've already set, like a smaller teacher-student ratio and very personalized, one-on-one experiences," Molloy said.

The teacher-student ratio at Immaculate Conception is 1-17 and officials are now working to hire more teachers and create more class offerings to keep this intact.

Molloy said they are also planning summer events to help orient Driscoll students and examining how the student influx will affect sports programs and clubs like National Honor Society and Eucharistic Ministers.

Ultimately, Molloy said, families are gravitating toward schools like Immaculate Conception because they are similar to Driscoll in both academics and size.

"We have a very strong family atmosphere because we are such a small and close-knit group," she said. "They obviously had gone to Driscoll for a reason and the education they can get here is comparative."

Transfer: Immaculate Conception hiring more teachers