Recognizing the critical need to provide spiritual, academic and emotional development for students who are in recovery from addiction, the Diocese of Allentown is ready to open the nation’s first faith-based recovery high school.
Kolbe Academy will host a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to open its first school year at the St. Francis Center for Renewal in Hanover Township, Pa., on August 26, 2019. It will welcome students in need from all faiths from all five counties of the Diocese: Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill, and beyond.
“Our existing high schools, which are based on our strong Catholic values, are well known for academic excellence and ongoing formation of every student’s intellectual, spiritual, social, cultural and emotional gifts,” said Dr. Brooke C. Tesche, Diocesan Chancellor of Education.
“This school follows the model of our other high schools and offers a specialized curriculum for students in recovery. The Diocese is excited to give all high school students in this region the education and support they need to succeed.”
The Diocese’s Department of Education worked with the Sisters of St. Francis to open the high school in Mullen Hall, the site of the former Saint Francis Academy. The school is guided by a Board of Directors, led by a principal, and supported through the Diocese of Allentown.
Kolbe Academy will be the seventh Diocesan high school serving students in 9th through 12th grade. The Diocese has a total of 40 elementary and high schools in its five-county area.
Kolbe Academy is named after St. Maximilian Kolbe, the patron saint of those with addiction.
For more information regarding Kolbe Academy, please contact the Office of Education at 610-866-0581.
