New Catholic High School Approved in Livermore

The long discussed Catholic High School, proposed for North Livermore, finally got the approval of the Oakland Diocese, and is moving full speed ahead. Named after Pope John Paul II, the coed high school will be the first high school built in the East Bay in over 40 years.

As planned, the new high school campus will encompass 32 acres of a 122-acre plot owned by the diocese and annexed by the city of Livermore. The remaining 90 acres, including segments of two arroyos, will be kept as open space.

The new Catholic college preparatory high school will accommodate a coed student body of 1,200 students, starting out with only a freshman class and possibly a sophomore class as well, each with about 300 students. The diocese said the state-of-the-art school will include administrative offices, classrooms, a chapel, performing and visual arts facilities, a sports complex and about 800 parking spaces.

Pre-construction work will get under way in the coming months, including finalizing the school’s design and building an access road to Interstate 580. A capital campaign fundraising drive also will start shortly at the same time the new school’s administration is chosen. An opening date has not yet been set.

There has long been a need in the Tri-Valley for a Catholic High School. Right now, the only reasonable options for Catholic High Schools are Moreau in Hayward (coed) and De La Salle (boys) & Carondelet (girls) in Concord, all of which are long commutes for students in Pleasanton/Dublin and the Tri-Valley. The demand is certainly there, as these Catholic schools are highly regarded high schools academically, and there are three area Catholic grade schools locally in Danville (St. Isadore), Dublin (St. Raymonds), and Livermore (St. Michaels). This comes on the heels of the new public high school in San Ramon, Dougherty Valley High School, which opened this fall.

Read the whole article in the Pleasanton Weekly.