With only a month before classes were to resume, Elizabeth Seton Academy, the only all-girls Catholic high school in Boston, has announced it is closing.
The Boston Globe reports that the decision not to reopen for the 2016-17 school year means that about 80 girls will have to scramble to find a new school.
The school opened in 2003, and officials say it was struggling to stay open because of declining enrollment and mounting financial difficulties.
“For more than a decade, Elizabeth Seton Academy has offered families a private, all-girls’ Catholic college preparatory high school experience," Board Chair Frances Birmingham said in a letter to parents.
"Despite limited resources and enrollment challenges, Elizabeth Seton Academy has carried on its mission valiantly since 2003. This decision is based on the school’s current financial situation, increased debt obligations, declining enrollment, and increased costs of operations.”
The academy graduated 29 students in the spring; about a dozen girls were entering the ninth grade, half the size of last year’s incoming class, according to Birmingham. Students paid $8,200 a year in tuition to attend.
A school fair has been scheduled to help students find new schools, and the Archdiocese of Boston is also helping to place students.
