Norwood parents are gearing up for a fight to keep beloved St. Brendan Catholic School open following an announcement on Feb. 15 that the Norwood school, founded in 1908, will close its doors at the end of the 2022-23 academic year, along with 11 others across the City. Meanwhile four, additional Catholic schools in The Bronx will merge into two.

The news follows the previous closure of six Catholic schools in The Bronx in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic due to declining income, as reported at the time. Of the twelve impacted schools set to close this year, six are, once again, located in The Bronx, five are in Manhattan, and one is on Staten Island.

As expected, the latest announcement has once again upended the lives of students, teachers and parents who are once more scrambling to find alternative arrangements for their children. Impacts for parents and students include much earlier morning starts and longer commutes in one of the least connected City boroughs in terms of public transportation, and one with a lower than City average income.

In the context of the closures, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York said, “It is never a good day when we announce closures to any of our beloved schools, but the goal is always to strengthen the remaining institutions and preserve Catholic education in New York for decades to come.”

He added, “We are doing everything we can to minimize the impact this will have on families and will provide both educational guidance and pastoral support to all those affected to ensure all children will be warmly welcomed into a nearby Catholic school. We are all in this together, and with hard work and God’s blessings, we will come out on the other side.”

In addition to St. Brendan School, the other five impacted Bronx schools which will close are Immaculate Conception School in Williamsbridge, the Holy Family School in Unionport, St. Margaret Mary School in Mt. Hope, Santa Maria School in Parkchester, and St. Angela Merici School, located to the east of Joyce Kilmer Park in the South Bronx. It was noted that there are two Immaculate Conception Schools, one at 151st Street in Melrose, operated by Partnership Schools, which will NOT close.

Meanwhile, St. Francis Xavier School in Morris Park will merge with St. Clare of Assisi, also in Morris Park, while St. Gabriel School in Riverdale will merge with St. Margaret of Cortona in North Riverdale.

According to the archdiocese, extensive community research, detailed studies, and careful deliberation and analysis went into the final determination of which schools would not reopen. “Unfortunately, due to shifting demographics and lower enrollment made worse by the pandemic, the impact to the financial stability of these schools was detrimental,” a statement read. “All 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.”

Michael J. Deegan, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of New York, said in part that he personally mourned the loss of each school. “We will assist all students who are seeking to carry on their Catholic education to find a seat at another excellent school in the Archdiocese,” he added.

His office also vowed to work closely with each affected family and added that directors of enrollment would answer any questions families had about enrollment, transportation, or tuition. As regards the impacted staff, office representatives said they were “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 archdiocesan school system.”

“Friends of St. Brendan School,” meanwhile, have launched a online petition on www.change.org entitled, “Save St Brendan School, Bronx.” As of Feb. 23, it had garnered 1,970 signatures. An accompanying letter addressed to St. Brendan families, community, alumni, and supporters, reads in part, “Our beloved school is set to close at the end of this academic year. This news is a shock to us all and blindsided teachers and staff.”

They went on to say that they chose St. Brendan to ensure their children received a solid education in a nurturing environment. “While the pandemic has been hard on everyone, the Archdiocese could have done a better job engaging the staff and families in this process. If this is truly a financial issue, it did not happen overnight,” the letter continued.

It went on to reference an email [from the school representatives] who were chastised for coming to the decision without working “in collaboration with the people who will be impacted.” The letter lamented a lack of “transparency” and “common decency” in not involving parents and staff in the process. “If we had been made aware, we could have tapped into our networks, worked to raise additional funds, or found ways to merge our school with Immaculate Conception,” they wrote.

Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York serve nearly 53,000 students from Pre-K through 12th grade across 170 schools in nine counties and boroughs throughout New York State. According to the archdiocese, “Catholic schools offer a unique combination of academic and spiritual development that empowers children of all backgrounds to gain the confidence to realize their fullest potential.”

The Friends of St. Brendan said they plan to join together to elevate their concerns to the archdiocese in a town hall hosted at the school for parents to hear from the superintendent and whoever made the decision in order to gain answers to questions. “It is only right to demand that our voices be heard, and that the archdiocese give us context and data to justify its decision,” they group wrote. They added that at the present time they were not requesting donations.

Norwood News spoke to one parent of a child attending St. Brendan called Sasha Ramirez and asked if there had been any preliminary discussions about the closure before it was communicated to parents in letters dated Feb. 15. “No. From like teachers or anybody? No. I just got that letter and that’s it,” Ramirez said.

She continued, “From the perspective of a parent, where my daughter just started 3k there, just getting comfortable in her first year with the teacher, knowing that she’s not going to have the same teacher next year, you have to understand, like, she’s just getting to know the school.”

Ramirez added, “She’s young. She’s only four years old so to just drastically just change her to another school, to meet new teachers and everything new, because I’m pretty sure that the kids that she’s going to be with weren’t going to move up into the same class… so, you know, I feel like that’s a little drastic for a child. You have to get them prepared.”

Ramirez said now she has to move along and look for new 4K. “Also, I lived around the area. It was easy for me. I live right in front of the school.” She added that she feels a school should be prepared enough to know when it’s not going to open. “That’s something that should be done at the beginning of the school year,” she said.

Asked if there was anything else she wanted to add, Ramirez said, “It was a good school. Everybody was good there. I have no complains about the school. They were understanding.”

Another parent of a child at St. Brendan’s said she had not received any notice regarding the closure. “So this is the last school year?” she asked Norwood News when we spoke to her. “I was not informed of that at all. So, there’s nothing that you guys can do to save the school? Oh wow! No one informed me of that at all. That’s such a surprise to me,” she added.

We contacted NYC Department of Education (DOE) and the Archdiocese of New York to ask if there had been any discussions between the two entities prior to the announcement of the closures in terms of potentially addressing how students would be impacted. We will share any updates we receive from the Archdiocese. NYC DOE representatives had no comment for now.

Meanwhile, the letter accompanying the petition concluded, calling on supporters to join them at the school on Friday, Feb. 24, in an effort to save it! “If we show up in numbers, it will make a difference!” they wrote. “Join us and make your voices heard!”

On Sunday, Feb. 19, we also spoke to another parent, Anisha Applewhite, about the merger of St. Gabriel’s School, located at 590 West 235th Street in Riverdale. As reported, Applewhite had previously told her us about 3 years ago that her son attended St. John’s on Kingsbridge Avenue and West 231st Street in Riverdale before it closed.

He was in kindergarten at the time and transferred to St. Gabriel’s. He must now change schools again. A rally opposing the closure was held at the school on Tuesday, Feb. 14. “Everything was going great,” she said. “He loved it. He progressed so much. He felt the community of family and friends, and then all of a sudden, we get a letter. A parent comes in and she contacts us via email about a rumor of the possible closing of St. Gabe’s and I’m like, Wow! How? They just closed four, and they just closed St. John’s, and they had told us that this would be an option for us.”

Applewhite said the letter regarding the closure was very vague. “In my mind, I said I had to hide it from my son because I couldn’t tell him, ‘Hey, the school that you finally got comfortable in, you have to leave there too, and you might end up losing your friends too because not everyone is going to go to St. Margaret’s’.”

The mother, who is also a teacher elsewhere, added, “The children are devastated. My son, this is the second time he’s experienced this. The craziest thing that happened is that we saw the list of schools and one of the schools… because I live near St. Brendan…I literally live 5 minutes away from the school, so, I said, hey, if they merge, I’m sending them both [her children] to St. Brendan. Well, they’re one of the schools that are closing..”

Applewhite also complained that the archdiocese didn’t engage with the community on the decision. “They never asked for any input from teachers or staff – nothing!” she said. “I find that disgusting. I find it very misleading and untruthful. It goes against everything. They did not do their research because conducting research would be asking the community.”

The mom said there were no longer any options. “I feel like they’re trying to end the Catholic schools. I really think they’re trying to end it. If it doesn’t work out at St. Margret’s, so what would be the next school in The Bronx that is feasible to get to. There’s none. They’re even closing Immaculate Conception, which is another five minutes away from me in The Bronx, on Gun Hill Road. So, we’re forced to put our children either in charter schools or we’re forced to put our children in public schools, which are still overcrowded. They lack resources, there’s no art, there’s not that many programs for our kids.”

Applewhite now worries about enrollment at high schools. “If you take away all these schools, then they’re eventually going to close the high schools because they’re going to be under-enrolled. There’s not that many elementary schools left and it’s all about money, and I think that’s the parent’s disgust. It’s about money, and this is Riverdale!”

She added, “If they close St. Gabe’s, will that mean that my son will go from having 17 kids in his class or 18 kids in his class to 34 kids, right? To about 40? I don’t know because I know New York State, because I’m a teacher and we can’t have more than 34 students in our class, and for one teacher with 34 students, is a lot.”

Newly elected Assembly Member John Zaccaro Jr. (A.D. 80), who represents parts of Norwood, among other sections of The Bronx, released a statement on the announced closures, saying, “My office is working very closely with the Archdiocese of New York to determine the impact this decision will have on the students, teachers, faculty and their families who attend and work at St. Brendan School and St. Claire of Assisi here in our District and convey their concerns.”

He added, “Many students attending this tuition based Catholic schools are from low-income and working-class families which are eligible or receive tuition assistance to attend. Should parents require immediate assistance they may contact Anthony Ferraro, director of enrollment for the Northeast/East Bronx region by calling the bilingual parent helpline at (646) 794-2885 between 9 and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.”

Back at St. Brendan’s, yet another parent of a child attending the school, Yohandris Rodriguies, said he lives 5 mins from the building, “just far enough for his child to walk.” He gave us his thoughts on the closure as he was picking up his daughter, 3, on Feb. 17. Speaking in Spanish, Rodriguies said, “Yes, it’s very sad that a school closes because they give a great service to the community. For example, we are very worried now. We’re in a dilemma, looking for a new school for our child so she can continue her studies.”

He continued, “It’s a pity because in reality we were already waiting to send our second child to receive classes at this magnificent college that has been spectacular and well, we have to accept that the authorities are sincere.” Rodriguies said school officials did confirm they would help them find a new place for their daughter at another school. He said due to the sudden announcement, however, his wife had been upset and a bit confused. He added that their daughter started at the school last year and had gotten fond of it very quickly and had become attached to the teachers. “It was a surprise,” he said. “We asked ourselves, ‘What’s going to happen?'”

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.