A Catholic school in San Francisco with a 138-year history has shut down abruptly because of a lack of funds.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Archdiocese of San Francisco has informed parents of students at St. Brigid Academy that they will need to find educational alternatives for their children in the short time before the start of the 2026-27 academic year.
Families learned of the closure in a letter from the superintendent of the city’s Catholic diocese schools. He told them their deposits for the $20,950 annual tuition would be refunded later in the summer.
The closure notice came a few days before the announcement of a $395 million settlement between the San Francisco archdiocese and survivors of alleged clergy sexual abuse.
Church officials said the school’s closure had nothing to do with the settlement, but rather was based on low enrollment.
St. Brigid served neurodivergent and gifted students, with a 4:1 student-teacher ratio. Parents fear that it will be difficult to impossible to find similar educational settings with seats available.
St. Brigid Academy opened in 1888. In 2024, it converted to a microschool for kindergarten through eighth-grade students. It had multi-age classrooms and just over 40 students this past year.
“After a thorough review of the school’s finances and after exhausting every available alternative to us, we deeply regret that the school can no longer sustainably operate or fulfill its mission to your children,” said Chris Fisher, diocesan school superintendent.
