G
ulf
P
ine
C
atholic
VOLUME 32 / NUMBER 3
OCTOBER 10, 2014
St. James Elementary named
National Blue Ribbon School
BY TERRY DICKSON
GULFPORT -- St. James Catholic Elementary School
has been named a National Blue Ribbon School.
On Sept. 30, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne
Duncan recognized 337 schools as National Blue Ribbon
Schools for 2014 based on their overall academic excel-
lence or their progress in closing achievement gaps
among student subgroups. These schools demonstrate
that all students can achieve to high levels.
The Department will honor 287 public and 50 private
schools at a recognition ceremony on Nov. 10-11 in
Washington, D.C. In its 32-year history, the National
Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed this coveted
award on just under 7,900 of America’s schools.
St. James was recognized as an Exemplary High
Performing School.
Exemplary High Performing Schools
are among
St. James principal Jennifer Broadus stands in front of St. James Catholic Elementary School. St. James has
been named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2014, one of two in the state of Mississippi to receive this award.
their state’s highest performing schools as measured by
state assessments or nationally normed tests. Student
subgroup performance and high school graduation rates
are also at the highest levels.
It should be noted that St. James was one of only two
schools from Mississippi this year to achieve National
Blue Ribbon status. The other was Caledonia Elementary
School in Caledonia.
“These great schools are fulfilling the promise of
American education -- that all students, no matter their
name or zip code, can flourish when schools provide
safe, creative, and challenging learning environments,”
Secretary Duncan said. “National Blue Ribbon Schools
are models of consistent excellence and a resource for
other schools and districts. We celebrate them for their
tireless effort and boundless creativity in reaching and
teaching every student.”
SEE ST. JAMES ELEMENTARY, PAGE 14
Josephites turns over
administration of Our
Mother of Mercy
Parish to diocese
PASS CHRISTIAN – On Oct. 1,
the St. Joseph Society of the Sacred
Heart, more commonly known as
the Josephites, turned over adminis-
tration of Our Mother of Mercy
Parish in Pass Christian to the care
of the Diocese of Biloxi.
Josephite Father Charles Andrus
was scheduled to make the
announcement at all of the Masses
last weekend at Our Mother of
Mercy Parish.
Father Bartholomew Endslow,
S.S.J., 93, who has served the par-
ish for the past 17 years and the
Society of St. Joseph for 65 years,
officially retired from active minis-
try on Oct. 1.
In a letter to Bishop Morin,
Father William Norvel, SSJ,
Superior General of the Josephites,
said, “The Josephites have been
privileged to serve the African-American Catholics at
Our Mother of Mercy for 106 years. At the retirement
of Father Endslow, we will not have a priest to replace
him. Consequently, we have to return the parish to the
diocese.”
Bishop Morin would like to publicly thank the
Josephites for their faithful ministry to the people of
Our Mother of Mercy Parish.
“While we regret to hear that the Josephites will be
leaving Our Mother of Mercy Parish, we owe them a
tremendous debt of gratitude and appreciation for their
106 years of tireless dedication and service to the par-
ish,” he said.
“At the same time, we are blessed that the Josephites
will continue to maintain a presence in our diocese
through their ministry to the people of St. Therese of
Lisieux Parish in Gulfport and St. Peter the Apostle
Parish in Pascagoula, where they have faithfully
served for over a century.”
Father Hyginus Boboh, S.S.J. will serve as
Parochial Administrator pro-tem of Our Mother of
Mercy Parish until a new pastor is named.
Father
Endslow, S.S.J.
Father Boboh,
S.S.J.
