Mount Carmel President Brendan Conroy told the Chicago Tribune that while the school is “in a strong position right now,” the consideration is motivated by enrollment trends in Chicago’s archdiocese. Current Mount Carmel enrollment is approximately 600 students, according to the school’s website.
Conroy said that responses from the community have been from “all ends of the spectrum.” Reaction on the school’s Facebook page has been more one-sided, with many of the comments opposing coeducation, citing the school’s motto: “You come to Carmel as a Boy. If you care to struggle and work at it, you will leave as a Man.”
“This is such a huge decision, and you’re gonna make it within a six- to eight-week ? to how long it has been all boys? It’s not right,” she said. “They a big deal about how boys learn different than girls, which was really big because my youngest has ADHD and I was not getting any support from the public school in regard to that,” she said.Russo said her youngest son likes the school as it is now, and told her that he might prefer to finish his high school education closer to home if Mount Carmel becomes coed.