Schools
St. Louis de Montfort School To Close at End of 2016-17 School Year
Our Lady of the Ridge School in Chicago Ridge also given fundraising and enrollment goals to remain viable.
St. Louis de Montfort in Oak Lawn is slated to close at the end of the current school year. The parish school’s last day will be June 30, 2017.
School and parish leadership at St. Louis de Montfort School recommended that the school not reopen next year. The Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of Catholic Schools and the Archdiocesan School Board has reviewed and endorsed the recommendation, as well as the Vicariate Bishop Andrew Wypych. Cardinal Blase J. Cupich has accepted the recommendation, according to an Archdiocesan news release.
The school also announced it would be closing at the end of the 2016-17 school year on its Facebook page. St. Louis de Montfort school was established in the 1950s.
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St. Louis de Montfort has a current school enrollment of 133 students. In recent years the school had introduced a strong STEM curriculum, including a state-of-the-art STEM lab. The school is also a "Super Kids" Center for Early Literacy, balanced by an extensive fine arts program. Despite these efforts to boost the school’s viability, finances and enrollment have not improved.
The Archdiocese is working with affected families to find alternative ways for their children to continue their Catholic education. Anne Maselli, spokeswoman for Archdiocesan Catholic Schools, said the decision to close St. Louis de Montfort is final.
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St. Joseph School in Homewood also announced that it would be closing at the end of the current school year.
The Archdiocese has given two schools, Our Lady of the Ridge School in Chicago Ridge, and St. Alphonsus/St. Patrick School in Lemont, fundraising and enrollment targets that need to be met in order for those schools to successfully open next year. Fundraising and enrollment recruitment efforts are underway at both schools, Masseli said.
There are no more Catholic school closings planned for this year.
Parents and community members are asked to call St. Louis de Montfort at (708) 599-5781 for more information on the school’s closing.
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