Students at a Manhattan Catholic elementary school were “devastated” to learn that their institution is one of three New York Archdiocese schools slated to shut down in June — leaving families with few other religious options to turn to.
Incarnation School in Washington Heights broke the news to its community Monday as Catholic institutions continue to suffer plummeting enrollment and skyrocketing tuition.
“I felt like it was blindsided. They had people coming in and out all year saying we were doing good. And now we’re closing, so it’s horrible,” a fourth-grade teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Post.
Students at the school, which serves pre-K through 8th grade, are gutwrenched to leave their friends and teachers.
“They’re sad. They’re crying every day. They like it here, they do. They feel safe,” the teacher said.
The New York Archdiocese announced Monday that Incarnation School and two other Catholic schools in the state would permanently shutter at the end of the academic year, while others would merge their populations into a single campus.
The New York Archdiocese did not reveal the cause of the intense trimming, only saying that administrators “face significant challenges that make it impossible to continue our mission at these locations.”
The news comes just weeks after the Diocese of Brooklyn, which oversees Kings and Queens counties, announced that seven of its schools would shutter at the end of the school year — and one year after seven other Big Apple Catholic schools also closed their doors for good.
“It’s heartbreaking. It’s kinda shocking. Incarnation’s like a family. The teachers are like family here, so they make us feel comfortable. It’s gonna be a big void and it’s gonna be big shoes to fill with the families, they spoil with us here at Incarnation,” said Laylaine Rosario, 31, whose kindergartener has been at the school for three years.
“He’s heartbroken. He’s asking if his teachers are gonna go with him. I told him, ‘Unfortunately, no, I’m sorry,’ but we have a group chat with the parents, so we’re trying to see what school most of the kids are gonna go to and see if we could keep our children together because they’ve been together for 3 years.”
Incarnation administrators have suggested alternative Catholic schools in the neighborhood that aren’t affected by the closures, but are left with limited choices after several shut down in previous years.
Many Incarnation families and students aren’t willing to consider public or charter schools.
“No, not a chance. I went to high school here in New York City. It was the worst public school,” said Vladimir Reynoyso, who has an 8-year-old enrolled at Incarnation.
The community is also left scratching its head on the cause of the closure, with most lauding the academics as excellent and worth the $6,175 per student tuition.
“My child gets a good education here, not just academic but religious as well and that’s important to you for many reasons — the structure, the discipline, and when you go to Catholic school, every parent has the same agenda,” said Calvin Soto, 42, parent to a 4th-grade daughter and an Incarnation alumnus.
“It’s devastating to me, especially as an alumni. It hurts the community because it’s been a staple of the community for many, many years.”
Ryan Seher, 47, agreed, calling the school a “fixture of the community.”
“The staff is fantastic … They are just really warm and welcoming all the time. Even the teachers who don’t teach our son, they all know his name and look out for him,” said Seher, whose 3-year-old son is in 3-K.
“I feel really bad for my son because he loves it. He has made a lot of friends. He likes his teachers and now he’s got to start over again.”
Catholic institutions have been struggling since the pandemic, with overall enrollment at Big Apple schools plummeting 23% between 2020 and 2024.
Experts blamed skyrocketing tuition prices and an overall drop in religious-centered education, as well as backlash for the church’s sex abuse scandals, as contributing factors to the plunging interest in Catholic schools.
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