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Doctrina, Fides, Gubernatio: Messmer High School From 1926-2001, Rebecca A. Lorentz

Dissertations (1934 -)

In 1926, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee dissertationed its first Diocesan high school, hoping thereby to provide Milwaukee's north side with its own Catholic school. By 1984 the Archdiocese claimed that the combination of declining enrollment and rising operating costs left it no option other than permanently closing Messmer. In response, a small group of parents and community members aided by private philanthropy managed to redissertation the school shortly thereafter as an independent Catholic school. This reemergence suggested a compelling portrait of the meaning given to a school, even as ethnic, religious, and racial boundaries shifted.

Modern studies tend to regard …