ABF Academy, a fully accredited K-12 private school located in Homestead, Florida, announced today that it has closed its acquisition of Champagnat Catholic School, the Hialeah based educational institution.
Established in 1968, Champagnat Catholic School was created to provide students in the Miami area with a Catholic based education focused on, as their website states, "Equipping students with the knowledge, skills, and optimism to live meaningful lives." Over the course of its 54-year tenure, Champagnat Catholic School became a pillar of the Hialeah community due, large in part, to its athletic successes. Since 1998, the Champagnat Lions have won District, Regional, and State honors across baseball, basketball, football, soccer, and track and field. Despite continued success in the classroom, on the field, and in the community, Champagnat Catholic School's Director of Operations Isabel C. Alonso publicly announced that the 2021-2022 academic year would be Champagnat's last. Soon thereafter, ABF Academy began its efforts to acquire the school. After a three-week period of talks and negotiations, the deal was finalized on Friday, July 29, 2022.
"There is no denying how important a role Champagnat has played for the Hialeah community throughout the years," said Manny Riera, Owner and Chief Academic Officer of ABF Academy. "When I was informed of the decision their leadership made to close down the school, I immediately knew that ABF would be the perfect organization to fill such a void."
The processes of transitioning Champagnat Catholic School into ABF Academy Hialeah are set to begin immediately. As stipulated in the deal, ABF Academy plans to retain certain facets of Champagnat's institution such as the Florida Department of Education school number, FHSAA membership status, and the school property itself. Plans to reinvigorate the basketball, baseball, and football programs are also underway at ABF Academy Hialeah with many coaching hires nearing finalization. ABF leadership also announced that the school would retain the Lions mascot in an effort to pay homage to the exemplary legacy its predecessor leaves behind.
"We're eager to welcome students, both new and old, into the hallways of ABF Academy Hialeah," said Mr. Riera. "Our hope is that the transition period moves along rather swiftly as we set our focus on opening for the first day of school on August 30th."