Students are mixed on Taunton Catholic Middle School's closing

TAUNTON — The closing of Taunton Catholic Middle School is drawing some mixed feelings from former students.

The school is set to become a Bristol Community College campus, and students from the old middle school are being taken in by Coyle and Cassidy High School.

Andreya DeSousa, a former student at Taunton Catholic and Coyle and Cassidy who is now enrolled at Fitchburg State University, is is hopeful for the future regarding the closing.

“When I first heard about it I was a little disappointed, but I’m happy that they are moving it into Coyle-Cassidy,” said DeSousa.

DeSousa has many memories from her time the school as a student-athlete, participating in both soccer and basketball. Some of her fondest memories were the many games and tournaments she participated in during her time at Taunton Catholic Middle.

“I was saddened by it,” said Meaghan Wanger, a 10th-grader at Coyle and Cassidy who attended Taunton Catholic Middle in seventh and eighth grade. She is a little more distraught regarding the school closing.

Wanger has her doubts regarding the plans for the middle-schoolers.

“At first I wasn’t too thrilled about it,” said Wanger. Before entering the smaller Catholic school, Wanger attended Carver Middle High School, a larger, combined middle school and high school, and said she had a difficult experience.

Because of her experiences, she was worried that future middle-schoolers will be intimidated by studying in such close quarters with older classmates.

Tim Wanger, Meaghan’s twin brother, also saw possible issues and admitted he was skeptical “of having sixth- and 12th-graders together.”

“I think they will get the kinks worked out quickly,” DeSousa said, regarding the possible issues of having a range of student ages at the same school.

The Wangers’ worries and skepticism were curbed after talking to Pat Tranter and Marie Angeley, the president and vice president of the school, respectively.

“They are installing doors at the end of the hall, and the middle school classrooms are going to be in the basement and on the other end of the school,” Meaghan said.

“They’re doing a good job at keeping them separate. ... I’m excited to see how it goes,” Tim said.

Karen Wanger, Tim and Meaghan’s mother as well as the new Coyle and Cassidy full-time nurse who has been around the school as a substitute nurse, said the administration is separating the two groups of students so they both have “their own experiences,” and that they are being very proactive with the changes.

Their sense of cautious optimism regarding the new school is joined by excitement from current TCMS students.

“I have a lot of friends at the middle school now. Most of them are excited, and I’m looking forward to seeing them every once in a while,” Meaghan said.