Holy Cross High School is set to open this fall.
Holy Cross High School’s admissions are open on a rolling basis, and they’re hoping for 35 students in the school’s inaugural year. Most students will be in the freshmen class with a few sophomores.
The school will add junior and senior classes in the next two years.
Holy Cross High School will be the only Catholic high school in Kent County.
Holy Cross is making its third attempt to set up a Catholic high school in the area. The first closed in 1987, and St. Thomas More Academy closed its doors in 2020 after declining enrollment.
The school’s president Tom Fertal said he’s looking forward to offering a new option for education to both Catholic and non-Catholic students and families.
“Parents do the research on education. They see that our numbers in Delaware are not stellar,” Fertile said. “The alternatives are limited, so there's no doubt that we will get, we are getting interest and will continue to get growing interest from parents who might not have automatically thought of private education.”
A survey of K-8 Holy Cross parents last year found 98 percent of respondents would send their children to the high school if it opened.
Fertal said Holy Cross hasn't had much trouble finding teachers and staff for the school.
"We're fully staffed in terms of teachers, which is a very exciting development, especially as a startup."
Fertal said the school is still looking for a Latin teacher.
Unlike other Catholic schools in the state, Holy Cross High will be independent rather than reporting to the parish or diocese. It will depend on donors and an endowment fund with no financial assistance from the Diocese of Wilmington.
Fertal said that decision was made to limit the problems that come with bureaucracy.
“As an independent school, we are working in conjunction with the Catholic Diocese. They have blessed the endeavor, but as an independent school, the decisions are made at the local level. Now the trade-off for that, of course, is that we are not receiving state money,” Fertile said.
Fertal called that a double-edged sword, but the school’s structure allows the Board of Trustees to make decisions on the local level fluidly and quickly.
Holy Cross High School recently hired a principal and its building is set to open April 1.
The school will open its doors to students in late August, with a concrete date coming soon.
