Three minority-serving Catholic schools in the Bronx to close

Just six months after returning to archdiocesan control, two Catholic schools serving minorities in the Bronx will close at the end of the 2024-25 school year, according to the New York chancery. An independent Catholic school in the borough, All Hallows High, will also close at the end of the academic term.

The news concerning Sacred Heart School and Immaculate Conception School—both serving pre-K through 8th grade—was made on Jan. 15, by the education office of the Archdiocese of New York, which covers Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island, and several bordering counties to the north.

“We recognize that this announcement may bring mixed emotions—gratitude for the decades of Catholic education and sadness as we close this chapter in these schools’ history,” said Sr Mary Grace Walsh, a member of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus who serves as superintendent of schools.

“With faith, we may also see this time as a gift of the Holy Spirit, guiding us toward an opportunity that will continue to serve our children and communities with care, love, and dedication.”

Both of the primary schools affected were operated by the Partnership For Inner-City Education from 2013 until June 2024, when the archdiocese declined to renew its contract with the nonprofit group that helps to revitalize struggling inner-city Catholic schools.

Last summer, the archdiocese did not note any intention to close the schools, though it was known that the chancery faced mounting financial struggles related to court settlements for clergy child sex abuse. Recent cuts in the archdiocese have included the closure of ethnic ministry offices, among them the Office of Black Ministry.

Both Immaculate Conception and Sacred Heart serve majority-minority populations, the former possessing a mostly Black student body and the latter predominantly Hispanic.

In a FAQ section posted to the archdiocese’s Catholic schools webpage, the reason given for the dual closures was not clearly specified—with the note only explaining that they are separate from an ongoing viability study concerning local Catholic schools.

The decision is said to reflect “a unique opportunity to reimagine education for the benefit of children while preserving communities.”

The archdiocese did not give a reason for its decision to take back the seven schools previously run by Partnership, but the announcement came just weeks after the arrest of a formerly affiliated teacher on rape charges. The archdiocese noted that it did not exercise direct “operational control” over the school, Mount Carmel-Holy Rosary in Harlem, at the time of the alleged crimes.

The two schools now being closed in the Bronx will be rented out to Brilla Public Charter Schools, providing a new income source for the chancery. Preference in a lottery system will be given to students from Immaculate Conception and Sacred Heart.

On Jan. 17, leaders at Allow Hallows High, an academically elite Black and Hispanic-serving institution run by the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers in the nation’s poorest congressional district, announced that the school will close in June. Several factors were cited, including a $1.7 million operating deficit, aging facilities, and increasing education costs.

Declining student enrollment was also noted, a primary factor in a number of similar closures—including a dozen by the Archdiocese of New York in 2023, and two others in May 2024. Manhattan Institute fellow Ray Domanico wrote this month that Catholic school enrollment in New York has fallen by a third in the past decade.

Soon after going co-ed for the first time in 2024, All Hallows sought support for an emergency fundraiserof that was ultimately unsuccessful.

“This decision came after much frank discussion and measured and prayerful deliberation,” said board chairman Br Patrick Moffett. “We continually and collaboratively explored and discussed a number of possibilities to remain operational, but none of them provided a financially viable pathway.”

Though it’s not yet clear what effect it will have, an executive order from President Donald Trump was signed on Jan. 29 that is intended to drastically expand school choice programs nationwide, which could be a boon for religious institutions seeking more consistent enrollment.

Legislators in New York have long been opponents of school choice, leaving families with tuition-free access to a limited slate of 360 charter schools statewide. That number remains capped following the legislature’s rejection of an expansion proposal from Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2023. The item was not reintroduced this month in her budget proposal for next year.

Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.

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