In this time of uncertainty, both with the pandemic shuttering the world as well as a study on whether a Palmerton-based Catholic school will be closed, St. John Neumann Regional staff, students and families are banding together to show support for the last Catholic school that is open in Carbon County.

Mary Comensky, principal of St. John Neumann, said that she is looking toward the future right now because she has not yet heard a decision from the diocese’s study on the school.

She commended students and families who have supported Catholic education and has done things to show that they want this school to remain in the Carbon County community for years to come, from pompom sales and Easter flower sales to envelopes with a single dollar being given.

“I’m impressed with the reaction of our students,” Comensky said. “They were made aware of the school study right before the closure (for the pandemic) and I think the training and gift of Catholic education is showing in the way they are dealing with the change in study. They are continuing to live out our mission.”

Comensky said that some children have given her $1 as their donations to the school, while others have held bake sales, cookie sales and other fundraisers to help the school they love.

“It’s so amazing to see,” she said, noting that one example of student love for the school came through a second-grader who made inspirational banners and sold them at her parish. The girl raised a little over $100 for those small handmade banners and gave the profits to the school.

In addition, the Home and School Association held a no-contact Easter flower sale to help raise money, selling over 300 boxes of flowers. Comensky has also been receiving notes and small donations from community members from around the county, which have been uplifting to see when the future doesn’t look so clear.

“At St. John Neumann, our mission statement proclaims that the distinctive purpose of St. John Neumann Regional School is to create Catholic-centered education enlivened by the gospel spirit of love,” she said. “Our students and families, even though not currently in our brick-and-mortar building, are certainly living and demonstrating the gospel spirit of love that Jesus exemplified. Our parishes and schools are not currently empty, they are just being deployed to our communities.”

Since the school closed as part of Gov. Tom Wolf’s order to shut down schools to try to slow the spread of COVID-19, St. John Neumann students, like thousands of other students across the commonwealth, have been learning through various online programs.

Teachers have been hosting Zoom and Skype classes so that students continue to receive the education they deserve.

“I’m grateful for the faculty being willing to adapt (to this new way of teaching),” Comensky said. “The faculty and staff are taking the full steps to make sure that the effects of the full cancellation do not affect the learning and performance of our students. We view this current disruption due to the coronavirus and school study as a cross for us to bear and know at some point we will see a resurrection as well. Our faith-filled community at St. John Neumann is standing strong in this storm.”

The school, even while under study by the Diocese of Allentown, has shown small growth, with three registrations coming in after the study was announced, Comensky said.

“People are putting their faith in what we’re offering,” she said.

To learn more about St. John Neumann Regional School, which covers the Palmerton, Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Northern Lehigh, Northampton and Pleasant Valley school districts, visit www.sjnrschool.org, call the offices at 610-826-2354 or 610-767-2935 or email altcsjn@ptd.net.