I graduated from a Catholic high school. In my opinion, the myopic insistence on "tradition" is part of what does these schools in. The number of practicing Catholics is shrinking and Catholic families are also smaller than they used to be. To keep the schools alive you have to broaden your reach to other families - non practicing, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, etc. and appeal to them on the grounds of solid academics, small class size, and a safer school environment. Otherwise the appeal of these schools will be very limited.

So, I heard the school is being torn down and that a new residential real estate project is going up in its place? Is that right?

Does anyone know what the plans are once the school is closed?

Another one, but this time in Bayonne.
Jersey Journal

After several attempts to stay afloat and continue to educate young women, Holy Family Academy in Bayonne is closing, the chairwoman of the school's board of trustees announced today.

"It is with great sadness that I must announce today that the current senior class will be the last one to graduate from Holy Family Academy,'' chairwoman Jennifer Mulcahy wrote in a news release. "Despite our best efforts, hard work and enthusiasm, we have been unable to overcome the daunting financial challenges of financing and running a private high school with a consistent decline in enrollment in this difficult economy.''

In 2008, the school lost its financial sponsor -- the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chestnut Hill, Pa. -- but alumnae and friends came together to keep it going for five more years.

The order founded the Avenue A school in 1925.

"We have explored every available means of keeping our doors open but in the end, we remain unable to reconcile the cost of providing a high-quality, Catholic education with the available revenue sources to do so. We make this decision after much contemplation and with a heavy heart,'' Mulcahy wrote. "Our focus for now is on completing the current school year, advancing our graduating class and assisting with the placement of our other students.''

Thanking "everyone who has supported us over the years,'' she added, "The board is also grateful to the administration, faculty and staff for their dedication and commitment to Holy Family throughout the years. Holy Family Alumni throughout the world will keep the spirit of this great institution alive for years to come.''

Mulcahy and the Rev. Joseph Barbone, a member of the board, added that the school still needs contributions.

To make a final gift, call (201) 339-7341.

When did you send them there? I've heard and witnessed vastly different experiences at OLC as recently as last year.

WhenQuote:

I didn't knock my girlfriend up, it was God. I'm not on the hook for child support.

Well at least you're experts in immaculate conceptions.

Bingo. I transferred from catholic K-8 to a well-regarded public school after my 7th grade year; I was so behind in math and sciences that I needed to take summer school. First and only time I took summer school. I was in no way a top-tier student in those days, but I was earning decent grades in those subjects in parochial school before switching schools. I went from 4x=12 in 7th grade to x^2+3y=3x on my first day on 8th grade. I had never seen another letter used in algebra beside x at that point of my life. Definitely academic shock, to say the least.

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What? Inflation? what does this have to do with declining enrollment in Catholic schools?

I sent my two older children to Catholic schools (Holy Rosary, OLC) because of tradition. They were wholly unprepared when they were accepted to McNair.

When you substitute religious nonsense for real learning, it's a disservice to our youth. No more parochial schools for our family.

The economy is no laughing matter either. It seems that the rate of inflation is a lot further away then what people earn these days.

Catholic school enrolments across the world will decline simply because parents can no longer trust them. Child abuse can't be swept under the carpet and the church has a history of being complicit with the abuse.

Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

Our Lady of Mercy Academy in Jersey City will close its doors after this school year due to dwindling enrollment, ending nearly half a century of providing elementary school children with a Catholic education.

"This is a situation where the pastor and principal, working with the school office, recognized that they just could not continue without an excessive increase in tuition," Archdiocese of Newark spokesman Jim Goodness this afternoon.

"The archdiocese is not able to provide the financial support, and the parish is not able to provide significant financial support either," Goodness said of the Bartholdi Avenue school that opened in 1964 and teaches children from pre-K through eighth grade.

School officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

Goodness said Our Lady of Mercy Church, located beside the school at 40 Sullivan Drive near Country Village, will remain open and that the parish is stable.

Parents received a letter this week notifying them that Our Lady of Mercy Academy will close. Parents of students attending the school have been invited to the school early next week to meet with representatives of the few remaining Catholic elementary schools in the area to facilitate the transition of students to other schools, Goodness said.

Goodness said the decline in the number of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese has been "gradual, but significant." He said there were about 140 Catholic elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Newark 14 years ago, but only about 75 remain.

In February the archdiocese announced that Resurrection School in Jersey City would close at the end of this school year.

With the closing of the two schools, Jersey City will be left with five Catholic grammar schools. Overall in Hudson County, there will be 11 Catholic grammar schools in the county, according to the archdiocese's website.

"We are still very strongly committed to Catholic education but we are trying to reorganize so maybe it is going to be fewer places, but it will be stronger," Goodness said.

St. Dominic Academy in Jersey City has plans to open its doors to seventh- and eighth-graders in the fall.