By Jason KUROSU

Less than a decade after the merging of Holy Redeemer Middle School and St. James Elementary School, the two campuses will be moving their students under one roof starting in the fall.

St. James the Less will serve kindergarten through eighth grades starting this September. Holy Redeemer and St. James the Less originally merged in 2009 due to financial issues and declining enrollment, sending kindergarten through fourth grades to St. James and fifth through eighth grades to Holy Redeemer.

Now, Holy Redeemer’s campus will be made available for students from St. Monica Academy in Pasadena, which has reached a six year agreement with the Los Angeles Archdiocese and Holy Redeemer parish to hold their classes at the Holy Redeemer campus, with the possibility of a four year renewal. St. Monica’s K-12 grades will begin classes at Holy Redeemer starting next fall, the culmination of the school’s efforts to obtain a larger space to accommodate a growing student body.

Joseph Freymann, St. Monica Academy’s director of  Marketing, said that “our enrollment has outgrown our campus.”

Holy Redeemer’s campus also presents the added benefit of an attached church for religious services. Currently, St. Monica students travel to St. Andrew Church, about a mile away across the 210 freeway.

Martin Boles, president of St. Monica Academy’s Board of Directors, praised the cooperation of Holy Redeemer in their mission to find a new campus.

A statement from Boles reads, “We are most pleased to become acquainted with Holy Redeemer’s Pastor, Father Ed Dover, a prayerful priest who has welcomed us enthusiastically, and without whom this move would not have been possible.”

Susan Romero, principal of Holy Redeemer and St. James, said she saw the move as “a win for everyone.”

Romero said that the initial reaction from parents has been “very positive,” saying that the schools’ focus on providing “a Catholic education” was of the utmost importance, something which would not be affected by the move.

  Jason Kurosu