Pandemic adds to Catholic school woes

Charles Fabian, facilities manager at Queen of the Rosary Catho- lic Academy in the Brooklyn borough of New York, sorts Thursday through classroom materials that can be donated. The school is closing permanently at the end of the month. 
(AP/Jessie Wardarski)
Charles Fabian, facilities manager at Queen of the Rosary Catho- lic Academy in the Brooklyn borough of New York, sorts Thursday through classroom materials that can be donated. The school is closing permanently at the end of the month. (AP/Jessie Wardarski)

NEW YORK -- As the new academic year arrives, school systems across the United States are struggling to cope with the covid-19 pandemic. Catholic educators have an extra challenge -- trying to stop a relentless wave of permanent school closures.

Already this year, financial and enrollment problems aggravated by the pandemic have forced the closure of more than 140 Catholic schools nationwide, according to officials who oversee Catholic education in the country.

Three of the nation's highest-ranking Catholic leaders in a recent appeal said Catholic schools "are presently facing their greatest financial crisis," and warned that hundreds more closures are likely without federal support.

"Because of economic loss and uncertainty, many families are confronting the wrenching decision to pull their children out of Catholic schools," said New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley and Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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They urged Congress to include funding in the next pandemic relief bill for scholarship assistance for economically disadvantaged families to use at Catholic or other private schools.

Many Catholic schools already have received substantial federal aid from the U.S. Department of Education and from the Paycheck Protection Program, which was designed to pay wages at businesses or nonprofits affected by the pandemic.

Closures have been numerous since March. Within the past month, Catholic leaders have announced the shuttering of five schools in Newark, N.J., and 26 in the New York City area. Among the schools closed earlier was the Institute of Notre Dame in Baltimore, a 173-year-old girl's high school that's the alma mater of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Several of the closures have promoted protests and petition campaigns by angry parents, and Catholic officials have been scrambling to help affected families.

The Diocese of Brooklyn's school superintendent, Thomas Chadzutko, said the closures were unavoidable due to the pandemic's "devastating effects" on enrollment and finances.

Parents were offered a $500 grant if their children enrolled in other Catholic schools, but many were bitter that the closures were announced with little time to make alternative plans.

"It is a complete travesty how the Brooklyn Diocese can shut down schools within a pandemic and with less than two months' notice," parent Javier Cortes wrote in an online post about the closure of Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy. "Treating children like this is NOT the Catholic thing to do!"

Also ordered closed was Nativity of Our Blessed Lady, an elementary in the Bronx.

"I was part of the first graduating class, and now I walked out of there hysterical in tears," said Hope Wilson, who later taught at the school for 30 years. "It's heartbreaking."

In Newark, Shante McGlone Burgess was devastated by the news that St. Francis Xavier School was closing. All three of her children attended the elementary last year, though the family is not Catholic.

"They were very welcoming there," McGlone Burgess said. "At a public school, I don't think my children would have gotten the same camaraderie, as well as the structure."

St. Francis Xavier is one of many schools being closed that serve predominantly Black and Hispanic communities. Three bishops who oversee matters related to education and racial issues recently sent an appeal to U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, seeking support for families of color with students in Catholic schools.

"A Black or Latino child is 42% more likely to graduate from high school, and two-and-a-half times more likely to graduate from college if he or she attends a Catholic school," wrote Bishops Michael Barber of Oakland, Calif., Joseph Perry of Chicago and Shelton Fabre of the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese in Louisiana.

At the National Catholic Educational Association, there's acute concern about the closures' consequences.

"Catholic schools have a very profound impact on young people of low-income backgrounds, students of color, kids from single-parent homes," said the group's chief innovation officer, Kevin Baxter "That makes it all the more tragic if we lose the Catholic schools that serve those populations."

Information for this article was contributed by Jessie Wardarski and Justin Pritchard of The Associated Press.

Facilities manager Charles Fabian stands in an empty classroom at Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy in Brooklyn borough of New York, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. In July the Archdiocese of Brooklyn and Queens announced that six Catholic schools in the two boroughs will close permanently at the end of August due to debt and low enrollment aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Facilities manager Charles Fabian stands in an empty classroom at Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy in Brooklyn borough of New York, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. In July the Archdiocese of Brooklyn and Queens announced that six Catholic schools in the two boroughs will close permanently at the end of August due to debt and low enrollment aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Miranda Gonzalez, 9, a former third grade student at St. Francis Xavier School, poses for a portrait in front of the building Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, in Newark. The Archdiocese of Newark announced the school's closure just four weeks before the new academic year. "I'm very disappointed and very sad," said Miranda's mother, Wanda Gonzalez. "The area needs a Catholic school." (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Miranda Gonzalez, 9, a former third grade student at St. Francis Xavier School, poses for a portrait in front of the building Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, in Newark. The Archdiocese of Newark announced the school's closure just four weeks before the new academic year. "I'm very disappointed and very sad," said Miranda's mother, Wanda Gonzalez. "The area needs a Catholic school." (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Charles Fabian, facilities manager at Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy, sorts through classroom materials that can be donated, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, in Brooklyn borough of New York.  In July the Archdiocese of Brooklyn and Queens announced that six Catholic schools in the two boroughs will close permanently at the end of August due to debt and low enrollment aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Charles Fabian, facilities manager at Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy, sorts through classroom materials that can be donated, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, in Brooklyn borough of New York. In July the Archdiocese of Brooklyn and Queens announced that six Catholic schools in the two boroughs will close permanently at the end of August due to debt and low enrollment aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
A statue of the Virgin Mary sits in an empty closet of a classroom at Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy in Brooklyn borough of New York, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. Catholic leaders announced in July that a total of 26 New York City area schools will close permanently in August. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
A statue of the Virgin Mary sits in an empty closet of a classroom at Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy in Brooklyn borough of New York, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. Catholic leaders announced in July that a total of 26 New York City area schools will close permanently in August. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
St. Francis Xavier students sit together for the first time in five months after their school was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, in Newark. The students and their concerned families gathered at the school to discuss its permanent closure, announced by the Archdiocese of Newark the previous week. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
St. Francis Xavier students sit together for the first time in five months after their school was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, in Newark. The students and their concerned families gathered at the school to discuss its permanent closure, announced by the Archdiocese of Newark the previous week. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
St. Francis Xavier School students and their families walk together in Newark, on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, after discussing the Catholic school's permanent closure announced the previous week by the Archdiocese of Newark. Nationwide, more than 140 Catholic schools will not reopen in the fall. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
St. Francis Xavier School students and their families walk together in Newark, on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, after discussing the Catholic school's permanent closure announced the previous week by the Archdiocese of Newark. Nationwide, more than 140 Catholic schools will not reopen in the fall. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Christina Mendez leans down to hug her 7-year-old son, Elidios Kenel, after meeting with dozens of other concerned parents and students at St. Francis Xavier School in Newark, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. The Archdiocese of Newark announced the school's permanent closure the previous week. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Christina Mendez leans down to hug her 7-year-old son, Elidios Kenel, after meeting with dozens of other concerned parents and students at St. Francis Xavier School in Newark, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. The Archdiocese of Newark announced the school's permanent closure the previous week. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Desks are stacked in an empty classroom after the permanent closure of Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy in Brooklyn borough of New York, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Desks are stacked in an empty classroom after the permanent closure of Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy in Brooklyn borough of New York, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
A sign made by parents and students of Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy hangs on the fence outside the school in Brooklyn borough of New York, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Queen of the Rosary is one of six Catholic schools in Brooklyn and Queens that will permanently close at the end of August. Nationwide, more than 140 Catholic schools will not reopen in the fall. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
A sign made by parents and students of Queen of the Rosary Catholic Academy hangs on the fence outside the school in Brooklyn borough of New York, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020. Queen of the Rosary is one of six Catholic schools in Brooklyn and Queens that will permanently close at the end of August. Nationwide, more than 140 Catholic schools will not reopen in the fall. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

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