Louisville's Independent St. Francis Schools Merge

Two of Louisville’s independent school systems will merge this summer and school officials say the change will save money and possibly increase enrollment.St. Francis High School and St. Francis School serve students from preschool through graduation.Alexandra Thurston is currently head of the high school and has been named head of the new merged system, which becomes official July 1. Both institutions have similar missions, so the curriculum won’t change much, it’ll just include more communication, she said.A merger should also help with student enrollment, which has been rocky the past few years, Thurston said.“Being two small separate schools we have had small voices in the community and together we’ll have a bigger, louder, more consistent voice we hope," she said.The schools are seeing a turn-around, said Thurston. The high school student body this year has around 125 students and they expect around 140 next year. There's also a waiting list for 9th grade, she said. St. Francis Schools will keep their current locations in Harrods Creek, Goshen and downtown.