Towson Catholic High School's surprise closing this month has left dozens of families scrambling to find new schools for the fall semester.
Now the 163 students who had enrolled at the Towson school are scattering, with some heading to Baltimore Lutheran School, others to Catholic schools such as Calvert Hall and Mercy, and still others to public high schools. Some students have not figured out where they're going; and others are pinning their hopes on a court hearing scheduled Friday, when a Baltimore County judge will be asked to block Towson Catholic's closing.
Here are the stories of several students facing the change:
Carla Baressi : She was weeks from starting her term as senior class president when the announcement came, but Carla Baressi is making peace with the closing.
"Last week, I cried numerous times," the Parkville 17-year-old said. "I mean, it's really heartbreaking to know that my school is closing in the middle of the summer without any warning. But I've also realized I have to move on because right now Towson Catholic isn't reopening, but my future must still go on."
A member of the National Honor Society, Baressi has been accepted at Maryvale Preparatory School and planned to attend an orientation there for Towson Catholic students on Monday. The girls school was the first she contacted; she may also look at Catholic High School.
Baressi is mostly looking forward, but she can't help casting a glance at what she leaves behind.
"I was in the midst of looking at colleges, and I had to put that on hold to look at a high school," she said. "And I just feel that no matter where I go I'm always going to be a freshman because I never really had a senior year with all my friends."
Jenavieve Kohler : Jenavieve Kohler, 17, was looking forward to a senior year that held the promise of becoming an officer in the National Honor Society. She also hoped, with help from her teachers, to put together a portfolio of her work that would help win her a spot in a college art program.
"Art is really personal at TC," she said. "I had the freedom to work on my art there. The teachers knew what our interests were and gave us freedom to make our own decisions."
An art career still beckons - she hopes to one day own a studio - but she wonders what school will appear on her diploma. Home-schooled through eighth grade at the family's Randallstown residence, Kohler said Towson Catholic students are the only classmates she has known. "Everybody knows everybody there."
