New Catholic school opens in Arlington, Va., is first in two decades

Published: 2008-08-26

DUMFRIES, Va. (CNS) -- Looking over an auditorium filled with the first students of Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Dumfries, Sister Mary Jordan Hoover of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia saw hope. "I see great hope in you, and it's filled me with a lot of hope," the principal told the 200-member student body. "You're a generation of students that wants to make a difference, and that's why you're here today." The school is the fourth Catholic high school in the Arlington Diocese and the first to open in the diocese in more than 25 years. Across the country, according to the National Catholic Educational Association, 13 Catholic high schools opened last year while 13 closed. The previous school year, four Catholic high schools opened and 10 were closed or consolidated. The new high school will include a comprehensive bioethics curriculum, the first of its kind in the country. The curriculum, written by the Nashville Dominicans, as the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia are also known, includes classes such as "Principles of Ethics," "Bioethical Issues at the Beginning of Life" and "Bioethical Issues at the End of Life."

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