With every school year, students and teachers can expect some changes, whether it's room assignments or, as we've seen with the COVID-19 pandemic, mask protocol.

But for students at Catholic Central School, the changes have meant having pre-kindergarten through 12th graders in the same building for the first time.

“It’s a little chaotic, honestly. The hallways are a little bit cramped, but it’s really interesting to have younger kids and older kids, because it’s never been like that before,” says senior Sam Brady.

That doesn’t mean things aren’t going well. The school anticipated some challenges.

Last November, the Albany Diocese made the decision to merge what was St. Ambrose School with Catholic Central High School to form Catholic Central School. While the hallways are a bit more crowded, the school believes the merger was the right decision.

"Catholic education is evolving. Beyond Catholic education, education in general is evolving. Our world is changing. Our kids are changing. Our families are changing and it was the right time,” says Lily Spera, the lower school principal.

The 385 students share the more than 20,000-square foot building. Each age group has its own wing. The school believes this will lead to separate learning, but also what it calls “purposeful interaction” and mentoring opportunities between older and younger students.

“As things are starting to progress and really fall into place, you get to see what, the reason we did this and the reason we know is right,” says Spera.

For Brady, it means being able to graduate alongside her friends and continuing her education.

“My hope is that the school continues to prosper and develops so that more kids can keep coming here and it just becomes a really great environment for kids to go to school,” says Brady.