Connecticut
CT private school goes co-ed for first time, opening to girls. ‘The time seems right.’
Falling student enrollment over recent years created the opportunity for a Connecticut Catholic School to go co-ed in the fall of 2025.
After a five-month review, Notre Dame High School West Haven Board of Corporate Members accepted the unanimous recommendation of Notre Dame’s Board of Directors to go co-ed.
“We were looking for viable options for the school moving forward,” Notre Dame President Robert F. Curis said. “We’ve seen this in schools all across the state — enrollment is shrinking and is in constant decline. You need to evaluate how you are going to position yourself.”
“But this isn’t all about enrollment,” he said. “We are an amazing school with a Holy Cross education. The time seems right to open up to girls.”
Notre Dame is one of 22 congregations of Holy Cross-sponsored secondary and post-secondary academic institutions in the country. After the fall of 2025, 20 of the 22 will be co-ed. Notre Dame West Haven was founded in 1946.
“In prior years, the thought was to stay the course,” Curis said. “I’ve been here for 10 years, and we’ve worked hard to make this a special place. We’ve been here 83 years and have incredible academics and 13,000 alumni and we want this school to be here for many years to come.”
“We were able to continue a single-gender school up until today because there was enough of a demand for what we were offering,” he said.
Curis said Notre Dame is using Holy Cross in Flushing, N.Y. as a model. That school went co-ed in the 2018-19 school year.
Notre Dame West Haven currently has 478 boys enrolled. The total was closer to 600 when Curis came into his role a decade ago. During that time, other Catholic schools in the state including Trinity Catholic in Stamford and Sacred Heart in Waterbury closed their doors.
“For me, this is exciting news, and we need to be able to pivot to be here for many more years,” Curis said. “Seeing those other schools close are important indicators to make sure we are doing what’s best.”
Female students will start at the school in the fall of 2025 as freshmen and transferring sophomores. Outside of the classroom, athletics are expected to start as soon as possible for female students.
With more students enrolled, in theory, that should help with cost.
“The cost of an education has increased and has made it harder for the families we want to serve harder,” Curis said. “Having a more robust population makes it easier. We want to serve the working families. As we have gotten smaller it’s gotten harder to serve those families.”
Ruben Valencia, vice president of Academic Affairs at the school, said “bringing in female students give us the best sustainability long term.”
“I felt strongly this was the best decision for us. I’m excited,” Valencia said. “This is going to bring us a lot to our school. Extending our mission to girls will be very positive.”
“I think it’s going to be a seamless transition,” he said. “We have put a lot of thought into this, and we feel very prepared for what is coming next.”
Valencia said 25 to 35 female students in freshman and sophomore classes at Notre Dame would be a good start in the fall of 2025.
“The truth is if the demographics weren’t what they were we would still be single gender school,” Valencia said. “We are going to be in good company though. We wish the schools that remain single gender the best of luck. This is certainly not us jumping on a bandwagon.”
Xavier High School in Middletown and Fairfield Prep remain two of the last remaining all-boys schools in the state and Sacred Heart Academy in Hamden remains an all girls school.
“We support President Robert Curis and the NDWH school community as they embark on this strategic decision to become co-educational, which will continue to foster Catholic high school opportunities for students in Connecticut,” Fairfield Prep said in a statement.
“At Fairfield Prep, our Jesuit mission as an all-boys school continues to be our focus, academically, athletically, and spiritually. Our traditional Jesuit educational model is designed to specialize in the learning development of young men during a highly transformative period in their lives. Prep’s current enrollment forecast is strong, with an upward admissions trend over the last five years, and a waiting list for Prep’s incoming Class of 2028 in the fall.”
Prep President Christian Cashman stated that Fairfield Prep strives to be a strong Catholic partner across our region.
“We are proud of our service partnerships in the wider Catholic elementary market and with Catholic Charities, our thousands of graduates serving the communities of Connecticut, and our longstanding relationships with our Catholic brother and sister schools,” Cashman said. “Prep is committed to our Jesuit mission to be men for others. Strengthening Catholic education in our region makes us all stronger.”
Sacred Heart Academy President Sheila O’Neil released an email to the Sacred Heart Academy community.
“Sacred Heart Academy’s all-boys counterpart, Notre Dame High School of West Haven, has recently announced their plan to welcome young women as students in the beginning of fall 2025. This new and significant shift in Notre Dame’s vision puts an end to the longstanding relationship between SHA and ND as brother and sister schools,” the statement said.
“Sacred Heart Academy remains to our mission of creating and environment that is girl-focused so that our students can continue to reap the benefits of an all-girls education: higher academic achievement, stronger self-confidence and resilience and more success on the job market,” the statement said.
“SHA is committed to providing our students with the best high school experience possible, including their social experience, which is undoubtedly important to teenagers,” the statement concluded. “As we navigate this change, we explore new opportunities for our students to expand their horizons, meet new people and socialize in new meaningful ways.”
The costs of climate change are being borne by those who did the least to cause it. This Earth Day, we should expect more than symbolic gestures. We need our elected officials to stand up to harmful industry influence and deliver policies that hold major polluters accountable.
The effects of climate change have been inescapable across the world, especially in Connecticut. Just last month in March there was persistent unseasonable heat that was so intense that the continental United States registered its most abnormally hot month in 132 years of records, according to federal weather data. And the next year looks to turn the dial up on global warmth even more.
Connecticut residents are now more than ever facing the harmful and costly effects of climate change disasters. These costly disasters and effects have no limits on who is impacted.
A newly published DEEP report showed that climate change had already adversely affected Connecticut residents, businesses, and infrastructure over decades. Extreme weather has cost the state and private sector billions of dollars since 2010. This will continue, according to recent data on climate change.
Between 1880 and 2020, Connecticut experienced climate change impacts, including eight to nine inches of sea level rise; increased coastal erosion, warming of Long Island Sound; warmer hottest and coldest days of the year; increasing annual rainfall; decreasing annual snowfall; and increased rainstorms and flash flooding. In just 2023 and 2024 Connecticut faced multiple extreme weather events from deadly flooding in Southbury, deadly brush fires in Berlin, and millions of dollars of damage to farms from drought.
Let’s be clear, Connecticut taxpayers and residents are paying for 100% of these climate costs, costs that are falling on those least responsible.
Since the 2016 Paris Agreement, just 57 companies are directly linked to 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Carbon Majors Database. These companies include fossil fuel giants like Chevron, Shell, and BP, who raked in record profits in the last quarter of 2023.
Why shouldn’t those most responsible pay their fair share?
Fossil fuel companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars every year to influence lawmakers and block climate action, because they know real accountability would cost them far more. Instead of paying for the damage their pollution has caused, they’re investing heavily in lobbying and political influence to avoid “polluter pays” policies and shift those costs onto taxpayers.
In light of Climate Superfund laws being introduced in over a dozen states including here in Connecticut, fossil fuel companies are actively shaping climate legislation to shield themselves from accountability. With more than 30 lawsuits filed by states and cities across the U.S., the industry is pushing for legal immunity to avoid paying for climate-related damages. These efforts are aimed at blocking “polluter pays” policies, like climate superfund laws, that would require them to cover the billions of dollars in costs tied to environmental harm, infrastructure impacts, and years of misleading the public.
This Earth Day, we need to flip the script. For too long, fossil fuel companies have pushed the idea that climate change is the result of individual choices, telling us to turn off the lights, take shorter showers, and shrink our personal footprint. Those actions matter, but they’re not the whole story.
The truth is, a small number of corporations are responsible for a massive share of global emissions. While they promote small lifestyle changes, they continue expanding fossil fuel production and investing millions to block meaningful climate policy.
We won’t see real progress until we name what’s actually happening. Accountability must be at the core of climate action, shifting the burden off everyday people and onto the biggest polluters. That means strong policies, real enforcement, and a firm commitment to a “polluter pays” approach. The Connecticut Legislature must act and pass a Climate Superfund bill to move costs off taxpayers and require fossil fuel companies to finally pay their fair share.
Julianna LaRue is an organizer for the Connecticut Chapter of the Sierra Club.
Amtrak says it will not close any railroad bridges along Connecticut’s shoreline during the 2026 World Cup, backing away from a potential proposal that had sparked concerns from boaters, harbor officials, and marine businesses.
In an email Tuesday to NBC Connecticut, Amtrak spokesperson Jason Abrams said: “At this time, in coordination with the Coast Guard, we will not be closing any bridges on the Connecticut Coast Line during the tournament.”
The statement is a shift from a plan previously circulating among members of the boating community. That proposal outlined possible hourslong closures of several movable railroad bridges on the Connecticut shoreline on dates tied to World Cup matches in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The affected bridges would have included the spans over the Connecticut River, Niantic River, Shaw’s Cove, Thames River and Mystic River.
The proposal had raised alarms among charter boat operators, harbor masters and marine industry leaders, who warned the closures could disrupt navigation during the height of the summer season, create safety risks on crowded waterways and hurt businesses that depend on fishing and recreational boating.
Amtrak also said is “exploring all options to move travelers safely and reliably during the World Cup with minimal interruption and inconvenience to local communities, visitors, and other stakeholders and travelers.”
Fans are expected to use rail service along the Northeast Corridor to travel to matches in the Northeast, including in the Boston area, where passengers would use connecting service to reach the stadium in Foxborough.
Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard told NBC Connecticut it was reviewing Amtrak’s request related to the bridge proposal.
“The Coast Guard has received Amtrak’s request for the bridge closures and are reviewing it to reach a final decision. When that decision is made, the Coast Guard will work with Amtrak. We are also aware of the mariners and boating communities concerns regarding this,” the Coast Guard had said.
It was not immediately clear whether Amtrak had formally withdrawn that request or whether the rail operator’s latest statement means the bridge closures are no longer under consideration.
NBC Connecticut reached out to the Coast Guard to request additional information.
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