Enrollment will start at around 400 students in September 2012, but she expects that number to climb after the first year.
It is much more cost effective to run one school with 400 students than two schools with 200 each - and that extra money can be spent on improving curriculum, said O’Neill.
The new school, sponsored by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston, will partner with Boston College and Regis College to increase the variety and rigor of available courses.
It will offer more internship opportunities as well as extracurricular options. It will emphasize technology and innovation, and focus on offering top-notch science and math classes.
The merger comes at a time when enrollment in Catholic schools across the country has declined: According to the National Catholic Educational Association’s website, enrollment has dropped by 22 percent over the last decade.
Changing demographics, more educational options such as charter schools, and the economic strain of tuition costs have contributed to the decline, O’Neill said.
“I think in general, in education, the same old ways of doing business aren’t working,’’ said the Rev. Joseph O’Keefe, a professor at BC’s Lynch School of Education and a specialist on Catholic education who has helped oversee the details of the merger.
“What this merger brings is a newness, to say we really need to do business differently,’’ he said.
All 400 students currently attending Mount Saint Joseph Academy and Trinity Catholic High School can enroll in the new school. Teachers, who work on one-year contracts, will be given preference in interviewing for positions there.
Scott Kmack, principal of Trinity Catholic High School, said he is optimistic that the merger will help offer a vibrant Catholic education in a modern way.
“Saint Joseph will look to integrate technology and to honor the traditions of both schools and of Catholic education, but one that’s shifting and meeting the needs of the 21st century,’’ he said.
Evan Allen can be reached evan.allen@globe.com.
