SUNSET PARK — Faced with declining enrollment, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy in Brooklyn will permanently close at the end of this current school year. The Diocese of Brooklyn announced the decision by the academy’s board of directors on Feb. 11.
The Diocesan Schools Office will assist parents in transferring their children to St. Ephrem Catholic Academy — a school located in Dyker Heights about a mile away from Our Lady of Perpetual Help — or to the Catholic school of their choice within the diocese, officials said.
OLPH Principal Kristen Lavelle said she and the academy’s staff are dedicated to ensuring a smooth transition for students. “I know that we’re working with other Catholic schools within the area to support our children in the transition for the next chapter in their lives,” she said.
According to the Diocesan Schools Office, student enrollment at OLPH Catholic Academy declined 36% over the past five years, creating a financial hardship. Only 85 students were registered for the upcoming school year. The decline in enrollment has increased the per-student expenditure to more than $11,600, far outweighing the $5,500 tuition cost.
The academy, which first opened in 1903, boasted an enrollment of more than 1,200 students at one time, according to the school’s website.
The school was originally named St. Alphonsus School, after the founder of the Redemptorist order of priests, which serves the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
In 1917, the school’s name was changed to Our Lady of Perpetual Help School to reflect its relationship with the church. The school became a Catholic academy in 2016.
“Since 1917, Our Lady of Perpetual Help has been educating students in both the faith and academics, and this decision to close will not erase the success of the past 108 years,” said Deacon Kevin McCormack, superintendent of schools for the diocese. “The decision to close was made after a thorough analysis with the hope there was a way to turn things around. Unfortunately, the pattern of student enrollment and the financial condition of the academy did not make that possible.”
Lavelle, who is in her second year at the helm, described the reaction to the news of the school’s closure.
“I know there were a great deal of tears,” she said. “I’m sure that the tears continued as children were home with their families.”
However, the sadness has also brought the school community closer together, she added.
“I know the staff and other people involved have been very upset. But I think this is something that has brought us together and made us even stronger,” she explained.
In a letter to the school community, the academy’s board of trustees vowed to make the final months at OLPH as normal as possible. “Our students will still receive first Communion and confirmation, and we will continue to pray and attend Mass together,” the letter read.
The closure of the 122-year-old school is a sad occasion, the Board of Trustees wrote in the letter, but they also noted that the academy’s legacy will live on: “The strong connections shared by many families in the neighborhood and beyond are a sign of the lasting impact of our school on generations of students and families.”