Welcome to the Good Shepherd School Alumni Community!

Friends of Good Shepherd School – Inwood, New York City, Inc. (FoGSS) welcomes you to our alumni community. Network with alumni and alumnae, stay up-to-date with the latest school and alumni/alumnae news, find out about upcoming events and reunions, collaborate within groups, and maintain your personal profile. If you are a Good Shepherd School alumnus or alumna, register now to enjoy the benefits of our community.

The stated purpose of FoGSS is to raise funds to subsidize the operations of Good Shepherd School until such time as the school is self-supporting, and to provide for partial scholarships to current and new students of the school, as well as to fund capital improvements to the school.

FoGSS was organized by three alumni of Good Shepherd School shortly after the Archdiocese of New York reached a decision, in January 2011, to not close Good Shepherd School. That decision was reached after these alumni, John Brennan and Richard Scarlata, both class of 1956, and Manuel Ramirez, class of 1982, along with Father Robert Abbatiello, the Pastor of Good Shepherd School and Mary Singer, the then principal of the school, presented a plan for the continuance of Good Shepherd School and its return to the governance of the parish. That plan highlighted increased fundraising, growing the student enrollment, developing new programs, and utilizing the many gifts and talents of parents, parishioners and friends of Good Shepherd.

In order to return GSS to self-supporting status, student enrollment, which was at 137 in June 2010,
needed to be at least doubled over a 5 year time frame. To achieve that goal, FoGSS developed and is in
process of implementing a strategic plan. The plan involves making GSS the school of choice in Inwood
for those families who want a better alternative to costly private schools, ineffective public schools and
the uncertainty of charter schools. As of September 2013, in keeping with the goals of the plan, student
enrollment had been increased to well over 300 students. Good Shepherd’s new Principal, Agnes McNamara
and new Assistant Principal, Veronica Walsh, are charged with overseeing the implementation of the
plan, the first priority of which is to improve the outreach to families of the parish and the Inwood
community.

Specific steps of the plan substantially accomplished to date include the addition of SmartBoards to all
classrooms; the creation of a quality Pre-K educational enrichment program for 3 and 4 year olds; an
expansion of the after-school program, which is available until 6:30pm; the upgrading of the school’s
library; a doubling of time available for special programs of physical education, computer, art and music;
the creation of after school extra-curricular activities and clubs; and the establishment of a Parents’
Association.

Other initiatives on the drawing boards include, among other things: further upgrades to the school’s
technology – its wireless network, and computer and science labs; partnering with a local college
to provide student teacher participation within the curriculum, as well as additional after-school
enrichment programs in physical education, science, math, art and music; and establishing an Advisory
Board of business professionals and educators to track the performance of the school and make
recommendations on how to further improve it.

Friends of Good Shepherd School - Inwood, New York City, Inc.
954 Lexington Avenue #252
New York, New York 10021-5013
phone: 888-774-6672 fax: 888-774-6672  fogss@gsschoolnyc.org

Friends of Good Shepherd School – Inwood, New York City, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions to Friends of Good Shepherd School are tax deductible as provided by federal and state regulations. Our Federal Identification Number is 45-1645817.

For a downloadable copy of our latest Form 990 – Report of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, as filed with the Internal Revenue Service - please click here 

Alternatively, a copy of our latest Form 990 may also be obtained, upon request, from Friends of Good Shepherd School at the address below, or from the  New York State Attorney General at: Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10271