What to Know
- Three more Catholic schools in New York City will be closing at the end of the year, the Diocese of Brooklyn said
- Mary Queen of Heaven and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic academies in Brooklyn and St. Camillus Catholic Academy in Queens are closing
- The announcement comes days after the Archdiocese of New York announced seven schools were closing
Another three Catholic schools in New York City are slated to close at the end of the school year, and another two will be merging.
The Mary Queen of Heaven Catholic Academy and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Academy, both in Brooklyn, and the St. Camillus Catholic Academy in Queens will be shuttering.
The Diocese of Brooklyn said Friday that the board of members and board of directors for each of the schools made the difficult decisions "due to declining enrollment and the severe budget deficits that have resulted."
Two Catholic academies in Bushwick will merge in time for the next school year: the St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Academy and St. Brigid Catholic Academy. The new school, to be located at St. Brigid's, will be called St. Brigid-St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Academy.
Students at all affected schools will be accommodated at nearby Catholic academies and automatically get a $500 tuition assistance grant if they attend another school within the Diocese of Brooklyn, as long as they've met all financial obligations. The one-time grant is made possible by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Trust.
"It’s an emotional time for the diocese when schools have to close because it is affecting the lives of students, parents, and faculty. The decisions come after intense analysis of enrollment trends and the financial picture of each academy," said Thomas Chadzutko, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools.
Each of the schools will have information nights in the coming weeks.
The announcement comes days after the Archdiocese of New York announced seven schools in New York will be closing after the school year ends, also due in part to declining enrollment. Cardinal Timothy Dolan called the decision to close the schools “painful and difficult.”
