SAN DIEGO — St. John of the Cross School and Cathedral Catholic High School have entered into an exciting new partnership.
Not all of the details are finalized, but it’s already up and running.
“We’re still wrapping our minds around what this will look like,” said Father Anthony Jimenez, associate pastor of St. John of the Cross Parish in Lemon Grove, who began the process in late January with a brief meeting with Dr. Kevin Calkins, president of Cathedral Catholic.
The partnership was officially announced on May 31 in a letter to both school communities, signed by Calkins; Lupita Hernandez, principal of St. John of the Cross School; and Father Jimenez.
Founded in 1948, St. John of the Cross was the first Catholic school in East County. There are currently about 120 students.
A torrential rainstorm severely flooded the campus in January of 2024, forcing the school to relocate to the former campus of St. Michael Academy in Paradise Hills for the rest of that school year. Hernandez said the associated costs “significantly depleted our already slim budget” and “left a lasting mark on the school enrollment and finances.”
The nascent partnership between St. John of the Cross and Cathedral Catholic is already bearing fruit with several examples of collaboration between the two communities and with Cathedral Catholic’s assistance in making campus improvements at St. John of the Cross.
Between March and May, upgrades were already being made at St. John of the Cross, with the help of Cathedral Catholic, whose Facilities Department visited the campus with some of its contractors to do an assessment.
Father Jimenez shared that more than 10 overgrown palm trees have been trimmed. Dilapidated shade sails in the lunch area also were replaced.
“Our contractors did a lot of this work pro bono,” Calkins said.
On June 10, Calkins spoke to the St. John of the Cross community about the “initial rollout of the partnership and what it’ll mean,” said Father Jimenez, who noted that Calkins was joined by “upwards of 14 faculty and staff” from Cathedral Catholic.
Hernandez said that more than 30 of her students participated in a two-week summer camp offered by Cathedral Catholic in late June and early July.
Lindsey Koenigsfeld, accounts payable specialist at Cathedral Catholic, is temporarily serving double duty as business manager at St. John of the Cross. Discussions also are underway for Cathedral Catholic to provide – and pay the salary for – a teacher to work full-time at St. John of the Cross.
On Aug. 7, both schools’ faculty and staff attended a retreat at St. Therese of Carmel Parish.
Reflecting on the partnership, Hernandez said, “To me, more than anything, it’s working as a Church, as one Catholic Church, as brothers and sisters together, for a common good.”
Calkins emphasized, “St. John of the Cross is running St. John of the Cross School. We’re not trying to take it over. We’re just trying to be helpful.”
Cathedral Catholic is “following the lead” of the pastor, Father Ricardo Juarez, and Hernandez, said Calkins. “Whatever their needs are, we’re just trying to say, ‘Here’s what we can do.’”
There has been discussion of creating what Father Jimenez described as “a more formalized pipeline” for St. John of the Cross students to attend Cathedral Catholic.
“There’s nothing firm yet,” said Calkins, but “we want to make sure that students who go to St. John of the Cross know that there’s a pathway for them” to a Catholic high school.
