Parents at Saint Thomas the Apostle Catholic Academy say they are processing the news that their kids’ Catholic elementary school is one of the seven that will close at the end of the school year.
Nitesh Singh has two children enrolled in the school.
What You Need To Know
Seven Catholic elementary schools in Brooklyn and Queens will close by the end of the school year due to declining enrollment and fiscal challenges, according to the Diocese of Brooklyn
The schools are operating with deficits totaling millions of dollars
The diocese will support staff with resources and assist families with placement to its other 50+ elementary Catholic schools throughout Brooklyn and Queens
All school activities and events will continue as planned through the rest of the academic year
“I’m still kind of in a state of shock,” Singh tells NY1. “So it’s sad. For this to be happening because it’s like, my daughter’s been with the same group of kids since Pre-K. So I know all the parents, it’s just really sad for, and so abrupt also too. We just got the letter yesterday. So that means everybody’s, I think, still in shock and awe for the most part.”
The Diocese of Brooklyn says declining enrollment and fiscal challenges forced the decision.
“People have to decide what they are going to spend their money on and we have some people who have decided; are they going to pay their rent or are they going to be able to go to a Catholic school? That’s really not a choice,” Kevin McCormack, the superintendent of schools for the diocese tells NY1. “The $6,000 to $8,000 that we charge for tuition, it costs much more than that to educate the child. So right away, the parents are getting a discount, but it doesn’t feel like it because you still have those bills to pay.”
The diocese says enrollment numbers have dropped at those schools between 2019 to 2025. Sacred Heart in Cambria Heights went from 225 students to 134; St. Nicholas of Tolentine went from 320 students to 144, and St. Thomas the Apostle in Woodhaven went from 182 students to 105.
The seven schools are operating with deficits totaling millions of dollars, creating an unsustainable financial situation, according to the diocese.
McCormack says this is an extraordinarily difficult moment, writing in a statement, “these schools have served generations of families with dedication and faith. The decision to close them was made only after careful consideration and with great sorrow.”
The schools are no longer able to operate in a pastoral and fiscally responsible manner, according to the diocese. But McCormack says he does not think the closures have to do with religiosity.
“I don’t think it’s really the religious aspect, per se,” McCormack says. “The people who are being attracted to our churches right now tend to be a younger demographic, people in their 20s, and they don’t have kids yet.”
The diocese says it will support staff with resources and assist families with placement to its other 50+ elementary Catholic schools throughout Brooklyn and Queens. As for Singh, he has to figure out what comes next for his family.
“I’m gonna find something, look maybe closer by my house,” Singh says.
All activities and events will continue as planned through the rest of the academic year, according to the diocese.