February 27, 2018

Three heads of school from Holy Child Network of Schools joined with fellow New York independent school administrators in speaking out against gun violence in a letter to President Trump and legislative leaders. The letter appeared as a full-page ad in Sunday’s New York Times.

The Holy Child heads were Melissa Dan (School of the Holy Child in Rye); Caroline Erisman (Cornelia Connelly Center in New York City); and Michael O’Donoghue (Holy Child Academy in Old Westbury).

In the letter, over 150 administrators wrote, “Never before have so many Independent School leaders in our region spoken with one voice on behalf of a single issue. We are moved to do so out of a duty to our students and all of our nation’s children and we find inspiration in the voices and actions of the students who are refusing to go about business as usual. We stand ready to help this effort, and encourage our colleagues leading schools across the country to join us.”

About the Holy Child Network of Schools

Schools of the Holy Child Jesus share in the mission of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus which is “to help people believe that God lives and acts in them and in our world.”

The Schools, committed by heritage to the educational mission of the Catholic Church through the philosophy and spirituality of Cornelia Connelly, endeavor to develop mature person capable of making choices which enrich their own lives and contribute to the lives of others.

Cornelia Connelly, founder of the Society, “developed an educational system based on trust and reverence for the dignity of every human being.” She exhorted Holy Child educators to carry this spirit to students in diverse backgrounds as they sought to respond to the “wants of the age” in which they lived.