Two St. Louis Archdiocese elementary schools to close doors
ST. LOUIS – The Archdiocese of St. Louis is planning to close two elementary schools after the 2023-24 school year.
The Little Flower School in Richmond Heights and St. Roch School in St. Louis will close at the end of the current school year. The Archdiocese says Archbishop Rozanski has accepted recommendations to close both schools.
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“We are profoundly grateful to our principals, teachers, and staff of these two schools, all of whom share their gifts in our diocesan schools, and to parents raising their children in our Catholic faith, including those who have made a commitment to Catholic schools,” said the Archdiocese of St. Louis in a news release Friday.
FOX 2 first learned of the possibility of school closures late last year due to low enrollment and budgeting outlooks.
Plans for other schools remain to be determined. According to FOX 2’s December 2023 report, the Archdiocese says more than 80 schools are less than 65% full, fueling an average yearly deficit of $600,000 per parish.
Around 26 schools under the Archdiocese of St. Louis umbrella were reportedly notified of the possibility of closing last year.
“For several other parishes, ongoing discernment is taking place, and additional closures may be announced before the commencement of the 2024-2025 school year,” said the Archdiocese via Friday’s news release.
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According to the news release, leading up to Friday’s announcement, parishes were asked to review their school enrollment, staffing, building capacity, archdiocesan funding and proximity to neighboring schools, among other factors.
The Archdiocese says it is working to provide enrollment assistance to students and placement assistance for faculty and staff impacted by the closures.
The planned closures come as the Archdiocese also launched an “All Things New” plan last year to consolidate 178 individual parishes into 134 parishes.
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