St. Lucy School, 830 Mace Avenue, taking the entire block between Bronxwood Avenue and Matthews Avenue, will close in June, 2025. The announcement from Sister Mary Grace Walsh, Superintendent of Schools, is linked HERE.
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Also HERE.
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Francis Cardinal Spellman dedicated the school in 1955. That's an impressive seventy years,
Our Lady of Refuge School, 2708 Briggs Avenue, just south of East 196 Street, will close in June, 2025. The annoucement from Sister Mary Grace Walsh, Superintendent of Schools, is linked HERE.
The title Refugium Peccatorum has been used since the eighth century, Mary as a powerful intercessor who helps sinners.
The parish dates from 1923. The 1925 construction placed the church inside the school. Several Bronx and Brooklyn parishes used that remedy for the high cost of land.
Sad to report, the leadership of All Hallows High School on East 164th Street has announced that the school will close at the end of June. I think it has 320 students total in grades 9-12. In September, it included twenty girls from the closing of St. Barnabas High School.
Please see the school's website at https://www.allhallows.org/
The current tuition is $7,000, but the cost per student is $11,000.
A mile to the south is Cardinal Hayes High School, supposedly with an enrollment of 748. I wonder whether its administration will seek transfers from All Hallows. I am quite certain there are spare classrooms. The president of Cardinal Hayes HS seems to be Dr. Michael Carey.
The word Hallows means Saints. The Irish Christian Brothers ran a successful high school at All Saints parish at East 129th Street and Madison Avenue.
Its history may be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Hallows_High_School
The school is about 0.3 mile east of the new Yankee Stadium.
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On May 1, 2025, Crain's New York Business website reported that All Hallows would be sold for $24 million. Please note that this is not a done deal. I have never been inside the building, but I suspect that the Brothers' quarters are very small. In another school downtown, I recall a Brother joking that he had to leave his room to change his mind.
Please see the announcement on the website of St. Barnabas Girls' HS in Woodlawn Heights.
Link HERE.
Yes, it is with great sadness. The story broke over the weekend on News 12 Westchester.
Missing from the school's website is the number of students in each grade.
Note that, in similar fashion, it is difficult to learn the current enrollment per grade in each of the possible receiving schools. I suspect that the surrounding Catholic high schools would welcome more students, but there also the weakness or strength of current enrollment per grade should be stated.
Also, I note that the destination school has to be at least somewhat convenient, based not on St. Barnabas's location, but on where the student lives.
The NYC Board of Education has signed up with St. Brendan's parish to lease its school part-time for a charter school. The parish will be able to use it for religious education, apparently on weekends. Please see the Norwood News article linked HERE.
