Saint Bernard School

Saint Bernard School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Uncasville, Connecticut. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich and is co-sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers.The early yearsSaint Bernard was established in 1956 as an all-girls school in New London, Connecticut. The school became coeducational in 1958. In 1967, the New London Campus reverted to an all-girls school, while a new boys' school opened in Uncasville. In addition, another all-girls school named Notre Dame opened in Norwich, Connecticut. This three-school model only lasted five years due to high operating costs and in 1972, the Norwich diocese closed Notre Dame and St. Bernard Girls' School, merging them with the Boys' school in Uncasville.The former Notre Dame campus has since served as Three Rivers Community College Mohegan Campus and in the fall of 2008 became Norwich Regional Technical High School.Rise and declineThe present site of St. Bernard in Uncasville thrived from the early 1970s through the 1980s. Peak enrollment was about 1300 students, and its athletic and academic programs soared. However, as the region's economy changed in the 1990s, the school's population declined. Athletics have since not been as strong, but some teams are still known to hold their own against larger schools.In an effort to reverse the enrollment trend, the Diocese of Norwich established St. Bernard Academy in 1997 as the diocese's only middle school, on the SBHS campus. This program grew quickly over the next few years, eventually adding a sixth grade class. Despite this, the high school's enrollment dropped to an all-time low of 330 for the 2000-2001 school year.