Caldwell Parents Fight To Save Trinity Academy From Closure

CALDWELL, NJ — NOTE: This article has been updated with a statement from the Archdiocese of Newark.

A group of parents in the Caldwells are fighting to save Trinity Academy from being shut down by the Archdiocese of Newark.

Earlier this month, the archdiocese – which serves about 1.3 million Catholic residents of Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties – announced it plans to close 10 Catholic schools throughout New Jersey, including Trinity Academy in Caldwell.

The archdiocese cited financial reasons and declining enrollment for the closure decision.

All schools will remain active through the end of the school year, with lessons and assignments continuing to be administered via distance learning platforms in compliance with the statewide mandate, the archdiocese stated.

Archdiocese officials said that wheels were put in motion on the closures before the coronavirus crisis began, and the decision is not directly linked to the pandemic.

• See related article: Archdiocese Closing Trinity Academy In Caldwell, Other NJ Schools

Trinity Academy earned a prestigious National Blue Ribbon designation by the U.S. Department of Education in 2015.

According to a statement from Trinity Academy, the school will be closing its doors the week of June 8.

Darlene Taylor, a concerned Trinity Academy parent, told Patch that she and other parents were “completely taken by surprise” with the decision to close the school.

“We were not made aware of the financial state of our school and as a result, our children are unjustly paying the price in the way of losing the friends, teachers, and community that they so desperately need,” Taylor said.

“This, compounded by the state of uncertainty and turmoil the entire world is in, is why we feel that we need to be given the opportunity to meet any requirements the Archdiocese of Newark deems acceptable to keep our school open,” Taylor said, adding that parents are hoping to get a meeting with Cardinal Joseph Tobin to express their concerns and find an amicable solution to the issue.

“We are fighting to save our school and encourage other parents to do the same for theirs,” Taylor emphasized.

Parents have launched an online petition titled “Save Trinity Academy.” As of Tuesday, it’s garnered more than 900 signatures.

The petition reads:

“As you already know, the Archdiocese of Newark has decided to permanently shutter ten schools at the end of this school year. Among these schools is our beloved Trinity Academy, formerly St. Aloysius Catholic School.

“The global COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our lives in many ways. As adults, we are able to understand the rationale behind the extreme measures that have been taken to protect our communities, but children cannot. They are young, innocent, and scared. Our children are not scared of the virus, but scared they will never see their teachers, friends, or classrooms again. During a time when our whole world is in a continuous state of uncertainty and instability, we have few things we rely on: Family, friends, and our faith. Our community of faith has been ripped away from us and our children.

“Our children cannot fully comprehend why their school, their center of faith and education, has been so abruptly removed from their lives. They have been forced to conform to remote learning, and continue this way with no end in sight. Now, that center of faith and learning is closing its doors to our children permanently and these children and their teachers will never return to walk the halls of Trinity Academy again. Our children, attending Pre-K3 through 8th Grade, are being forced to feel the emotional and psychological impacts of not only being separated from classmates and teachers for months, but they now face the permanent loss of stability and security of their school, at a time when they need it the most.

“The Archdiocese of Newark, headed by Cardinal Tobin, Reverend Monsignor Thomas Nyddegger, and Acting Superintendent of Schools, Barbara Dolan, made the unfortunate decision, amid worldwide turmoil, to shatter what was left of our children’s security and permanently close down our beloved Trinity Academy, devastating our children and our community.

“Trinity Academy is our children’s home away from home, a beacon of light and love for every family in the history of our community. To us, Trinity is FAMILY. Our children see their teachers they love as their mentors, as their safe guidance through these troubling times. We are now being forced apart and forced to separate children from their educators, their stability, and most importantly, from their faith. I implore you now to speak up for us, for our children, for our Trinity Academy family.

“During an emergency pandemic and state-wide shutdown, please tell the Archdiocese this is NOT the time to displace children and declare permanent closures. Tell them that we love Trinity Academy and will fight to keep it open. We will fight to ensure our children have the ability to maintain continuity and consistency. This is our number one priority. We will stand together to keep what we love and fight to continue to provide the best faith-based education to our children. We implore you, Cardinal Tobin, give us the opportunity to save our school!

“And we ask you, the families, parents, students, faculty, parishioners, neighbors, and friends, please write to Cardinal Tobin and demand that we be given the chance we so rightfully deserve.”

ARCHDIOCESE: 'DIFFICULT CHOICES WERE NEEDED'

A spokesperson for the archdiocese offered Patch the following statement about the closure on Wednesday:

"Over the past several years, despite efforts by the archdiocese and our school administrators to increase enrollment and decrease reliance on archdiocesan subsidy, our situation has become increasingly unsustainable. Late last year, it became clear that difficult choices were needed to safeguard the future of Catholic education. Unfortunately, Trinity Academy has found itself in the same precarious position as hundreds of Catholic elementary schools nationwide. In the past five years at Trinity Academy, there has been approximately a 28% decrease in K-8 student enrollment, with K-8 enrollment well below the 200-student threshold since at least 2015. Over the last five years, the archdiocese will have invested approximately $1.4M to operate the school. Regrettably, these numbers are not sustainable. To continue in this manner will require the archdiocese to stop investments in technology, curriculum development, and professional staff development."

The spokesperson continued:

"While there is no good time to close a school, we recognize that this announcement is particularly painful during this pandemic. We were in the first phases of the planned closings when the shutdown occurred. With the pandemic continuing as long as it has and because some of the affected schools were already accepting enrollments for the fall, we determined it was best and most respectful to make the announcements now. Furthermore, we knew that further delay of this decision to consolidate our school community would serve only to weaken the entire Catholic school ministry. If our archdiocese could not subsidize all the schools at current levels before COVID-19, we will be even less capable once the quarantine eases. This is a reorganization aimed at ensuring that our archdiocesan Catholic schools not simply survive but also flourish."

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Caldwells Facebook page. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Sign up for Patch email newsletters.