Despite Rumor, St. Martha School in Enfield to Remain Open

ENFIELD, CT — St. Martha Church is closing and the congregation will be merging with St. Patrick and St. Adalbert to form a new parish, but the award-winning St. Martha School will remain open, despite rumors and speculation to the contrary, the school principal said Thursday.

A major announcement by the Hartford Archdiocese earlier this week about church consolidations and closings led to some confusion as to the status to Catholic schools, but St. Martha School "is definitely not closing," according to principal Dr. Ann Southworth.

"We're bringing in all sorts of new technology, our enrollment is doing well and we're moving forward to stat an endowment campaign, attracting new students to the school," Southworth said. "We wouldn't do that if we were closing."

Under the consolidation plan put forth by the Archdiocese, St. Martha Church will be combined with St. Adalbert and St. Patrick into a new parish, St. Raymond of Penafort. The St. Martha site will no longer be used for worship, but the chapel will be utilized for services for the students, such as Monday Mass and Good Friday Masses, Southworth said.

St. Martha School, which opened in 1964 at 214 Brainard Road, received Blue Ribbon designation from the U.S. Department of Education in 2010 – the highest honor bestowed on a school for its academic excellence. Blue Ribbon honorees are among the top 15 percent of private schools in the country.

A longtime Catholic school teacher and administrator in Massachusetts, Southworth is near the end of her first academic year at the helm of St. Martha. She said hearing false rumors is a bit discouraging, but she is excited about the school's future.

Tours are being offered on May 22, where visitors may visit the premises and ask questions. The tours will be individualized by appointment, and may be set up by calling the school at 860-745-3833.

Patch file photo