SCRANTON, Pa. — The neighborhood school of Scranton's north end will soon be empty no more.
The former Holy Rosary School sits next to Mary Mother of God Parish on William Street. The school's been empty since 2007.
But the Agency for Community EmPOWERment of NEPA purchased and is renovating the school with plans to open a Head Start Pre-K program in the new year.
"The building was sitting there, not being used. It's great for the area, great for the children," said neighbor David Gavronsky.
"We have this big building which is used for two hours a week for CCD, and that's just not enough usage for this massive facility. The upgrades that were needed would have been very expensive, so this was a great partnership. I get to keep the basement for my religious education classes, and the kids in the whole neighborhood, especially low-income, will get Head Start," added Fr. Cyril Edwards, pastor of Mary Mother of God Parish.
The agency has already poured about $1.6 million into the project, and only the first floor is complete.
Eventually, once the rest of the work is done, officials hope 180 children will attend preschool here.
But the goal was to have some classrooms open in 2022 since the Scranton School District is eliminating its pre-kindergarten programs.
"When that started, we had problems finding buildings that could hold that many students in time, and when COVID hit, it even added to the expense and the need for space, so this wouldn't have happened without everybody coming together. We're very excited that we're going to be able to fill that need of the low-income families that were impacted by the Scranton School District," said Jim Wansacz, Executive Director of the Agency for Community EmPOWERment of NEPA.
The project was paid for through state and federal grants. The rest of the work is expected to take a few more years.
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