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Andrew Currier, president, Archbishop Riordan High School in the San Francisco school's chapel. (Bowerbird Photography)
Updated Jan. 31, 2020, 11:12 a.m.
Jan. 30, 2020
Catholic San Francisco
All-boys Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco will become a coed institution beginning in the 2020-21 school year, school president Andrew Currier announced Jan. 29 in a message on the school's website.
Currier called the move from an all-boys enrollment to a boys and girls enrollment “exciting news.”
The administration and board acted quickly in ruling on the proposed coed model. It was just on Jan. 19 that the idea was publicly put forward by Currier in a message on the school website, in the wake of the surprise announcement by Mercy High School San Francisco that the all-girls school would close after the current academic year.
“While admitting young women represents a new direction after 70 years of exclusively educating young men, school leadership has looked at this change from many angles and believes this decision is in the best interest for the long-term vitality of the school and to build an even stronger school community,” Currier said.
“We are grateful to our school community of alumni, students, parents, and friends for your continued support and thoughtful feedback," he said. "Please continue to pray for our school community during this time of transition. We will be updating you in the coming months about this new model for our school.”
The school announced that applications are reopened for the 2020-21 academic year for incoming girls and boys of all grade levels. The deadline is Feb. 21. Incoming freshmen will be notified of their acceptance decision on Friday, March 20.
Riordan will host an open house on Feb. 6 from 6-8 p.m.
Currier said Riordan's tradition as a Catholic, Marianist high school "informed our decision to broaden the Riordan family to better serve the demand for Catholic education, especially in the Southern part of San Francisco." He said the school will continue to educate for formation in faith; provide an integral, quality education; educate in family spirit; educate for service, justice, peace, and the integrity of creation; and educate for adaptation and change.
A message from board chair Steven Herrera, a 1976 graduate of Riordan, accompanied Currier’s news on the website.
“On Tuesday evening Jan. 28, school administrators presented to Riordan’s board of trustees the facts and data gathered over the past two weeks from various stakeholders, including students, parents, alumni, faculty and staff, relative to the exploration of a coeducational model for the school’s future,” Herrera said.
“This included a current school profile, financial data, prospective enrollment trends, and summaries of surveys from alumni, parents, students, and faculty and staff," Herrera continued. "After much thoughtful discussion and consideration of the information presented, the board voted 14-4 in favor to admit young women for the 2020-2021 school year.
"While there are still many things to work out, President Currier presented compelling data as to why a move to coeducation makes sense now with enrollment trends locally and nationally and the possibility of a multiyear integration model with students from Mercy San Francisco,” Herrera said.
Like Currier, Herrera deferred to the Archdiocese of San Francisco for a final decision on the new coed model.
No timeline was offered in either message as to when the Archdiocese of San Francisco might give final word on the change.
Owned and operated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Riordan was established in 1949 with an all-boys student body. In recent years, Riordan has developed cooperative programs with Mercy San Francisco.