Community Reacts to Loss of Local Catholic School

While parents and students make plans for the closure of St. Anthony of Padua School this June, teachers and alumni say they are saddened by the thought that the school will be leaving the West Harrison community.

The Archdiocese of New York to cut funding to St. Anthony's, along with 26 other Catholic schools in January, effectively forcing the schools to close.

Deborah Beaudrot, a mother of four and now a resident of Milford, MA, graduated from St. Anthony’s in 1983. She said the dwindling number of Catholic schools in the region is concerning for her.

“When I heard it was closing — it was upsetting because mainly it doesn’t give parents an option anymore. Half my class was from St. Bernard’s and they closed,” She said. “It is not giving people the ability to choose the education for their child. I raise my kids in a Catholic school right now, so to me that is an important part of their development.”

Reminiscing about her days at the school, Beaudrot said that she joined the class in the upper grades when her family moved into town. She remembered it as a very active school.

Ginny McCormick, a recent retiree, who taught second grade for more than a decade said the tight-knit environment in St. Anthony's isn't common in other places.

“It was a wonderful family atmosphere at all times. The parents bent over backwards to keep that place alive,” she said. “We had a wonderful family. We knew the kids, every kid knew who every teacher was — everybody cared for all these kids.”

When McCormick was diagnosed with breast cancer just days after she started teaching there, she said the the school community banded together to help her.

“The support I got was amazing from the teachers, the principal, the families,” she said, adding that the same level of support was always given to families that experienced losses during her time there.

In June McCormick's thoughts will be with the teachers at St. Anthony's, especially with so many Catholic schools closing at once. She said that teachers are now gathering to work on resumes and plan for the future.

The feeling is echoed by Patricia Gabriel, president of the Federation of Catholic Teachers.

"We have not seen anything in any statements from the archdiocese that acknowledges the appreciation for the teachers in these schools," said Gabriel. "Our concern is with the teachers.”

The New York Archdiocese is providing opportunities for families to discuss options for the future. In a statement released by the archdiocese, Dr. Timothy J. McNiff, superintendent of schools said that the archdiocese will be providing pastoral support guidance to every family affected by the process and will work with current students to find a neighboring Catholic school.