A little bit of good news:
Uptown New Orleans Xavier Prep, primarily for African-American girls, will now be known as Saint Katharine Drexel Preparatory School. The school was founded in 1915 by Mother Drexel and her Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. (That was the actual name of the order) Due to financial reasons it was slated to close this year.
Happily six alumni came to the rescue and convinced a corporation of judges and magistrates to buy the school and the alumni will keep it open. The Sisters will run the school and maintain its Catholic mission.
Gebrielle Riley, a fifteen-year old student summed up the joy of all the girls (and parents): “This was nerve-wracking at the beginning but now I’m excited that I’ll get to stay with my friends. I feel like I have grown so much as a person here.”
Mrs. Eleonore Villarrubia, who often contributes articles for our website, is from New Orleans. She had visited this school while a librarian for another Catholic school in the city. In addition to the Sisters, the curriculum, and impressive student body, she told me she’ll never forget how clean the building and rooms were.
