A petition was launched in mid-July to save the private, Catholic high school for girls, St. Barnabas High School (SBHS), located at 25 E 240th Street in Woodlawn Heights, which the Board of Trustees announced on June 28 had closed with immediate effect due to declining enrollment, a decrease in donations, and rising costs.

 

Summer programs are still going ahead, and a meeting was due to take place in July to assist parents with alternative arrangements for their daughters. The Women of Woodlawn group shared a link to the petition on July 12, saying, “The decision by the Saint Barnabas High School, Bronx NY Board of Trustees to close the High School with zero notice to families is irresponsible.” They said the school closure would have huge impacts not only on the SBHS families but on the local community.

 

“SBHS is used by a host of local organizations to host functions, fundraisers and meetings,” the group wrote. “We urge the Board of Trustees to be more transparent with the community and consider alternatives to closure. Please sign this petition created by students!” The petition can be found on www.change.org under the description “St. Barnabas High School.”

 

The Catholic Archdiocese of New York announced on May 1 that two other Catholic schools, including one in Fordham Heights, St. Simon Stock School, located on 2195 Valentine Avenue, will also cease operations at the end of the 2023-24 academic year. Transfiguration School in Westchester was the other impacted school.

 

As part of the announcement, the Office of the Superintendent of Schools of the Archdiocese of New York said in part of the latest closures, “Careful deliberation, research, and analysis went into the final determination of which schools would not reopen. Unfortunately, shifting demographics and lower enrollment have significantly impacted the ability for these schools to continue operation. Affected families will be welcomed in neighboring Catholic schools, with applications for financial aid and scholarships available for the upcoming academic year where applicable. Additional information will be shared with school constituencies in the coming days.”

 

Sister Mary Grace Walsh, ASCJ, Ph.D., superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of New York, said, “We understand this is indeed a sad day for our Catholic schools community. However, as we process this news, we must resolve that the great tradition of Catholic education in New York will continue, and we will assist all families to find a seat at another excellent school in the Archdiocese.”

 

Archdiocese officials said The Office of the Superintendent of Schools’ Directors of Enrollment would provide each family with information and answer any questions they may have, whether they are about enrollment, transportation, or tuition.  “The Office of the Superintendent is dedicated to working in coordination with the teachers’ union to do everything it can to help faculty of the affected schools find employment within the other Catholic schools,” the statement added.

 

Last year, we reported how Success Academy Charter School had opened on the former site of the now closed St. Brendan Catholic School in Norwood, which had been educating students locally for over a century, having been founded in 1908. The charter school opening followed what were ultimately unsuccessful protests to keep the school open in February 2023, by staff, students and parents of students attending the Catholic school.

 

St. Brendan’s closure was part of an announcement on Feb. 15, 2023, that 11 other Catholic schools across the City would close and four additional Catholic schools in The Bronx would merge into two. That news followed the previous closure of six other Catholic schools in The Bronx in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic due to declining income. Of the twelve impacted school closures announced in 2023, six were, once again, located in The Bronx, five were in Manhattan, and one was on Staten Island.

 

Norwood News reached out to The Office of the Superintendent of Schools of the Archdiocese of New York for comment on the allegations of zero notice as well as an update on the current situation. A representative replied, saying, “Unfortunately I can not share any information regarding St. Barnabas High School. As your email notes, the decision was made by the Board of the high school, not by the Superintendent’s office nor the archdiocese. You would need to contact the Board for reaction.”

The representative added, “We will, however, work with the former students of the school and do our best to place them in other Catholic high schools.”

 

A message on the website for St. Barnabas reads, “Dear Parents, Guardians and Students, We want you to know that we will do everything we can to make this difficult transition go as smoothly as possible for each of you. Mrs. Nieves is currently working with several local Catholic high schools to gather all of the information about each school for our families. As we receive the updated information, we will email it to you so please check your emails regularly. Students who participate in the SSP program please know that SSP will contact you directly with your options for school choice.”

 

It continues, “Your transition team is compiling important information on high school open houses and about each school for you to review with your daughter. We hope to have this document emailed to you as soon as possible. We are currently working with FACTS to gather the information to process the return of your re-registration and fees for the 2024-2025 school year. As soon as we are able to process that, we will notify you how those fees will be refunded to you. Your daughter’s transcript is being prepared and will be available shortly for you and the school that you choose for the upcoming school year.”

 

It concludes, “Please know that our team has been working and will continue to work to make sure that our students, our families, and our faculty receive the support they need at this difficult time. Please remember the school building will reopen on Tuesday and summer school session will begin on Tuesday, July 2, 2024.”

 

The notice was signed off by Mrs. Julie Kaen, Mrs. Gina Nieves and Mrs. Fran Dziuma of the Saint Barnabas High School Transition Leadership Team.

 

Norwood News has reached out to the Board for comment and will share any updates we receive.