It has been about a month since our Town Hall Meeting, where we shared our accomplishments in our first 30 days. If you have questioned our silence since then, it comes with a reason.
We have been quiet out of respect to the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas/MESA while we attempted to negotiate with them to (1) lease or purchase the school at 815 Convent Road or (2) receive their endorsement to sponsor our school at an alternate location, in alignment with their stated mission to educate young women. Attached is OUR LATEST OUTREACH to them and THEIR RESPONSE. We encourage you to read both correspondences in their entirety, but in summary:
While the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas have not disclosed what they are doing with the building, they are certain it will not be used for a school.
Their mission of educating women (on the Syosset campus) has come to an end and they have no interest in sponsoring a new school - nor should we create anything new in their image and likeness.
Our daughters, families, alumnae and 95-years of tradition and culture, lovingly fostered by the Brooklyn Sisters of Mercy, our faculty, students and parents, are worth preserving. Is it not our legacy too? Whose names adorn the banners in the gymnasium? Whose faces smile back from the pictures lining the hallways?
Despite our efforts to provide financial stability, a solid 5-year strategy and educational plan, the institution has no interest in listening to us. A panel of decision-makers from afar have determined that the future of 815 Convent Road no longer includes the mission that the Brooklyn Sisters of Mercy dedicated much of their lives to.
So this leaves us with two questions:
Why do they keep abandoning our girls?
Where do we go from here?
Question 1: Why do they keep abandoning our girls?
After 100 years of perceived progress, educating women comes second. The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas are not alone. All across America, female single-sex schools are being closed and abandoned at a higher rate compared to male single-sex schools.
Institute of Notre Dame (Baltimore, MD) - Abandoned by the Sisters of Notre Dame after 156 years
Visitation Academy (Bay Ridge, NY) - Abandoned by the Sisters of the Visitation of Holy Mary after 170 years
Immaculate Conception High School (Lodi, NJ) - Abandoned by the Felician Sisters after 107 years
Mount Alvernia High School (Newton, MA) - Abandoned by Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception after 88 years
La Reina High School (Thousand Oaks, CA) - Abandoned by the Sisters of Notre Dame after 60 years
The common theme?
All of these were loved communities
Community members stepped forward begging for a chance to save their community, pledging their time, money and talent to do so
All were ignored or turned away without explanation, and these beloved campuses now lay vacant and unused
We ask - why?
Question 2: Where do we go from here?
We are at a juncture in our journey where we seek your input on where you, our community, wants to see this mission go. Please complete our survey by Sunday, March 17, 2024 - you can access the survey HERE.
Do we continue our legacy of empowering women elsewhere, on a new campus? We assure you we would settle for nothing less than our existing environment, surrounded by bucolic acres and steeped in history.
Do we shift to preservationists, documenting our memories and experiences, and look for opportunities to fundraise and “re-create” the best of Mercy - Sports Night, the sisterhood - in our communities, continuing to support education through the establishment of a foundation?
Do we do both? Or do we end our mission here?
We, as Mercy Girls, have not quit. We will continue to persevere, fueled by your passion and support. Tell us where you think this journey should go.
Thank you for your continued support. Questions can be emailed to Mercy.Girls.Dont.Quit@olmapc.org. We will respond promptly.
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