MA Catholic school sets enrollment records with Beacon Bank’s support

After more than doubling its high school enrollment in six years, Malden Catholic was poised to jump another 20% with a new middle school when its former bank began showing a reluctance to provide the needed financing just prior to a key deadline. 

“Our enrollment was teed up. Our donors were engaged. Then everything went to a complete standstill,” said John K. Thornburg, president of New England’s fastest growing Catholic high school. “That’s when Beacon Bank absolutely saved the day.”

As a result, Malden Catholic’s inaugural middle school classes just completed their first year in a multimillion-dollar, 72,000-square-foot academic and athletic building with state-of-the-art facilities. “None of this would have been possible if Beacon Bank hadn’t stepped up,” said Sean Hurley, the school’s chief financial officer.

Flipping the script on Catholic school enrollment trends

Located in Malden, Massachusetts, north of downtown Boston, Malden Catholic is flipping the script on Catholic school enrollment trends as one of just three schools nationwide with a “co-divisional” model. 

In 2017, it was an all-boys high school with about 400 students. In 2018, it added a class of ninth grade girls whose entire day of classes is separate from the boys, but who mix with them in before- and after-school extracurricular activities. By 2023, Malden Catholic had more girls in grades 9-12 than any all-girls high school in Massachusetts. It was also planning to add a middle school.

Then, a few days before the new building’s financing was set to go before their former bank’s credit committee, their relationship manager left the bank, postponing consideration. The school was assigned one relationship manager after another, causing further delays. That’s when Beacon Bank stepped in providing $37 million in lending to support the project.

‘Providing educational resources the community needs’

“Our trusted team of commercial banking experts is well-versed in the distinctive needs of private schools. That, combined with our unique local approach, allowed us to quickly tailor a solution that got the project back on track,” said Darryl Fess, President of Beacon Bank’s Boston region. 

In addition to an athletic facility with 32,000 square feet of indoor turf, the new building includes classrooms focused on entrepreneurism, financial literacy, biomedical education and robotics. “Having grown from 400 students to 1,050 students in just eight years, Malden Catholic is clearly providing educational resources the community needs,” said Doug Dixon, Commercial Banking Team Leader for Beacon Bank in Eastern Massachusetts. 

“It’s preparing the workforce of tomorrow,” said Karen Ng, Director of Credit & Portfolio Management at Beacon Bank. “It’s rewarding to play a supporting role for Malden Catholic.”

Hurley summed it up this way: “Beacon Bank believed in us. They understand how schools like ours work and the value that we bring. I know it sounds odd to say we love our bank, but we love Beacon Bank.”