The University of St. Thomas is asking Montgomery County residents to fill out a survey to determine potential interest in a new Catholic high school.

What's happening?

Chief University Services Officer Carla Alsandor said the survey is the first part of a feasibility study. The university's steering committee was created in the spring to begin studying the needs and gathering feedback.

So far, the committee has:
  • Spoken with professional consulting firm Meitler
  • Created a mission statement
  • Drafted questions for a survey and distributed it to the community
“There has been an interest within the community in Montgomery County and the Conroe area in particular for a Catholic high school,” Alsandor said. “Since we've been in the community, we've had great interaction with people in the community, and we've come to understand their interest in education, and not just higher education, but at the high school level as well.”

Some context


Alsandor said Montgomery County is a part of the Archdiocese, and therefore a new campus would be the northernmost Catholic high school within its boundaries. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston has more than 1.7 million Catholics within its boundaries, according to the church's website.
  • It is the largest diocese with the largest Catholic population in Texas.
  • It is the fifth largest in the United States.
Alsandor said the potential high school would also partner with the University of St. Thomas. UST is located in Houston with a microcampus in Conroe and offers over 40 undergraduate degrees and 30 graduate degrees.

“The vision is that this would be a high school where students can obtain college credits and graduate with an associate degree as well as a diploma,” she said. “That would set them up to segue into the university to obtain the rest of their degree. Overall, there are just so many great benefits to this concept for people who desire a private, Catholic education.”

Next steps

Parents, residents and community members can fill out the survey until Oct. 16. Once the survey closes, Alsandor said UST and Meitler will analyze the results and begin making decisions about the next steps.