102 years after its founding, this Memphis Catholic school with 159 students will close
More than a century after its founding, a local Catholic school is set to close.
Immaculate Conception Cathedral School, the parish school of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Midtown, is slated to close its doors at the end of the current school year. It serves preschoolers through eighth graders, and according to a Catholic Diocese of Memphis spokesperson, it has 159 students and 35 teachers and staffers.
The school was started in 1922 by the Sisters of Mercy, a year after the inception of the parish.
“This is a very heartbreaking decision given the rich history of our school,” said Father Robert Szczechura, pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, in a press release. “We prayed often, and our school board, parents, and parish leaders met many times to collaborate on all possibilities from several angles to keep the school open. Unfortunately, the ongoing lack of financial stability and our constant struggle with enrollment made it impossible for the parish to continue operating the school.”
In the release, school principal Kadesha Gordon noted that the hope had been for enrollment to grow. Immaculate Conception had focused on “collaboration, promotion, and recruitment,” she explained and welcomed children receiving funds from the Education Savings Account (ESA) program ― Tennessee’s voucher initiative that offers students about $9,000 in state funds to cover tuition and other expenses at private schools.
The Diocese recently told The Commercial Appeal that about 300 students were attending local Catholic schools using ESA funds, and that roughly half of them were attending three schools ― one of which was Immaculate Conception.
But, Gordon noted, it became clear that their hopes were "not sustainable."
“Despite everyone’s hard work, the expense of maintaining a school is far beyond what the parish and community were able to support,” she said.
The school is now focused on providing students and parents information about other local Catholic schools, while also working with staffers as they look ahead.
“We want to make this transition as smooth as possible for our students and parents,” Szczechura said. “Meetings will be offered to discuss each child’s future education, and the same will be done for all our faculty members. We pray that God will bless each family during this transition and always.”
Previously, Immaculate Conception had also contained a high school, but it closed in 2020, amid enrollment challenges and economic difficulties related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the school shifted to a classical education model, which focused on a traditional curriculum that used classical books and art, placed an emphasis on language, literacy, and writing; and moved away from technology in the classroom.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Immaculate Conception Cathedral School in Memphis will close in May
