The 2022-23 school year will mark a new beginning for a consolidated Cathedral Preparatory School and Villa Maria Academy, which will be known as Cathedral Prep and operate from a single location as a co-ed institution. The grounds at W. 10th Street were blessed in April 2021 to provide a safe transition for workers, faculty, and students.
The landscape of education will continue to evolve in a way that encourages science, technology, engineering, arts, and math programs. A three-story 35,000 square foot addition will provide students with the technology and resources to thrive in these branches of STEAM. Villa girls look forward to the expansion of opportunities that the consolidation will provide for them.
Mr. Moffett, the Vice President of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion has been working to create an environment where the boys and girls are prepared to make the change from a same-sex education to a coeducational learning environment.
Mr. Moffett feels it is significant to acknowledge gender issues that have been present and to teach students how to fight against inequality. Most of his educating is directed towards the girls of Villa to understand and be able to pick out inequality at home, school, and the workplace. He wants to create an environment that is beneficial to everybody.
“If you are against equality it says a lot about who you are,” Mr. Moffett said, regarding the dismissive behavior towards sexism at both schools. By disregarding the issue at hand, there can be no resolution.
It is important to educate students and administration on how to not just be passive regarding these issues but to be direct in a way that has the opportunity to expand one’s perspective. It is students’ responsibility to use their voices to induce change. By speaking to people in positions of power and raising awareness of concerns, corrections can be made to benefit the student body.
Villa theology teacher Mr. Bell understands the issues at hand.
“A desire for a great high school education will unite students,” he said.
Mr. Bell perceives the differences between genders as a mythical understanding of society. All students are facing the struggles of school, work, social situations, home life, and unfortunately inequality. During this transition, students need to be open-minded and eager to educate themselves on how to fight against sexism for their brothers and sisters.
A number of students on both the Prep and Villa campuses have described conflicts with faculty and other students where they felt inferior to the other gender as a man or woman. This toxicity is not meant for any school, let alone a coeducational institution.
As faith guides students and administrators through the transition, they have a symbol of equality and feminism to identify with. Jesus was progressive in a way that rejected stereotypes of the era. Women were created in the image of God, just as man was. Through his mannerisms and teachings, Jesus became a paragon of equality.
By inducing changes within the community and treating others as Jesus had, equality can thrive at Prep and Villa. However, this cannot be done by being passive. It is urgent to consider the presence of sexism and to decide what can be done to resolve it. The brothers of Prep have always been equal to their sisters at Villa; it is time to act with this in mind.
