Save Redemptorist Effort Organizes – Central Coach Sid Edwards Explains

    On December 19th the Bishop and Superintendent announced the June closing of Redemptorist High School, grades 6 through 12.  Now some Redemptorist alumni, including Coach Sid Edwards and others from Central, have banded together to try to avoid the closing of this north Baton Rouge Catholic School.  Many Central students still attend Redemptorist, Central’s nearest Catholic High School. 
    Coach Sid, in an interview with Central Speaks, expressed his concerns for the current Redemptorist students as well as the employees and the North Baton Rouge community as a whole.  Sid, a Redemptorist graduate and later coach, acknowledges the challenges facing the school, but favors allowing parents, alumni and stakeholders the opportunity to save the school.
    School officials cited declining enrollment as the reason for the closing.  Enrollment in grades 6 through 12 is down to 150 students, but Coach Sid points out that in 1997 enrollment was less than 550, and grew to over 900 by 2004.
    According to Coach Edwards “The group called Save Redemptorist has been meeting and working very hard to come up with a plan to save the school.  The deadline set by the diocese to submit a plan is today, January 8th, and the group has a couple of proposals ready for consideration.”
    The primary proposal, according to Coach Sid, is a strategic plan to fund-raise and increase enrollment to revitalize the school.  Coach Sid explains “The group is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the school open, but their real desire is to do so with the full support of the diocese.”
    There is a prayer rally Thursday night at 6pm in front of the St. Gerard Church and parents, friends and alumni are encouraged to come out in support of saving Redemptorist.