HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Mount Carmel School in Hågat is officially no longer tied to the Catholic school system, as the Archdiocese of Agana has signed a decree closing that chapter of the school’s history.
Mount Carmel Catholic School converted into Mount Carmel Academy Charter School on Sept. 26, which means it is no longer a religious school, but instead a public charter school. As such, a decree was signed by the Archdiocese of Agana.
“The decision is based on the successful application by the Mount Carmel Alumni and Endowment Foundation and Mount Carmel School to convert to a government-funded Ed nonreligious charter school,” the Rev. Romeo Convocar, apostolic administrator for the archdiocese, said in the decree.
The decree took effect Friday.
“We first and foremost recognize the true founders of Mount Carmel School – the Sisters of Notre Dame. Their spirit remains both because the sisters continued to teach with us all these years and now because their students are teachers and administrators of Mount Carmel,” the foundation’s chair, Mike Phillips, told The Guam Daily Post.
“We wish Mount Carmel Academy Charter School the very best in its new journey and identity as a school chartered under the laws of Guam. We shall definitely miss our Mount Carmel School,” Convocar said, congratulating the newly founded charter school.
For decades, the school was operated by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, who founded the school in 1957.
The foundation took over operations in 2007 when the school faced closure.
“We recognize that it has not been easy. Phillips and other board members rescued the school from extinction. The school went on to accomplish many remarkable things since the shift in 2007,” the archdiocese said in a press release.
Now that the school is a public charter school and not a religious entity, Phillips confirmed that religion is no longer part of the school’s curriculum and shared the school’s mission as a public charter academy.
“MCS will greatly enhance its current activity-based curriculum with a project-based curriculum. … MCS offers the most relevant and exciting project-based curriculum by utilizing the last 16 years of activity-based learning to create a complete, yet customized, curriculum designed to most benefit local Guam students,” the school said in its mission statement.
Phillips also confirmed that because the school is no longer under the Catholic school system, it will need to pay rent.
“We will either pay to the archdiocese or (the) new landowner. Either way, we will be paying rent just like any other charter school,” Phillips said.
Mount Carmel Catholic School is seen Monday, April 17, 2023, in Hågat.
