4 JANUARY 18, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
St. Pancras School in Glendale to close for good this June
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
Citing years of anemic enrollment
and resulting fi nancial losses,
Glendale’s St. Pancras School —
a neighborhood fi xture for nearly 110
years — is closing its doors forever
this June.
Parents of the 105 students currently
enrolled at the Catholic school
received the news on Jan. 10 in a letter
co-signed by Reverend Francis
Hughes, St. Pancras Church pastor,
and Maria Soto, the school’s principal.
The Ridgewood Times received a
copy of the letter Thursday morning,
Jan. 11.
The Diocese of Brooklyn is working
to enroll current St. Pancras students
(except eighth-graders graduating this
June) at neighboring Catholic schools
for the next school year, including
St. Matthias Catholic Academy in
Ridgewood and Sacred Heart Catholic
Academy in Glendale. Hughes and Soto
noted that the diocese will be off ering
St. Pancras parents a one-time tuition
grant to re-register their children up
to the seventh grade at a local Catholic
school or academy for the 2018-19
school year.
According to the letter, the St. Pancras
student population dropped by
100 students over the last six years;
the average class size now stands at 13.
“While it may seem that a small
class size is desirable, tuition for
this type of education normally approaches
$15,000 annually or more,”
Hughes and Soto wrote; annual
tuition at St. Pancras starts at $4,880
per child. “The parish does not have
the means to subsidize the school for
the future, and we cannot do so at the
expense of other parish programs
and ministries.”
The downturn in enrollment
reduced the school’s income from
tuition, creating a budget shortfall
that now exceeds $250,000, Hughes
and Soto said. Despite the school community’s
best eff orts to keep it going
— including holding fundraisers and
an extensive marketing campaign —
Hughes and Soto said the situation is
no longer sustainable.
“To attempt to continue the school
while further curtailing academic
services and extracurricular activities
would be a serious disservice to
your sons and daughters,” they wrote.
“Also, the necessary staff constrictions
would contribute to the deterioration
of the total education program.”
When reached for comment on
Thursday, Reverend Hughes confi
rmed that the closure letter was sent
home to parents, but referred QNS to
the Diocese of Brooklyn for further
comment on the matter.
NEARBY SCHOOLS WILL
WELCOME STUDENTS
Carolyn Erstad, a diocese spokesperson,
told QNS that each St. Pancras student
enrolling in a Catholic grammar
school or academy within the diocese in
September would receive a $500 grant
from the Futures in Education program.
Futures in Education raises funds to
help parents across the diocese aff ord
a Catholic education for their children.
In addition to Sacred Heart Catholic
Academy and St. Matthias Catholic
Academy, other nearby Catholic
schools welcoming St. Pancras students
in September include St. Margaret
Catholic Academy in Middle
Village; Notre Dame Catholic Academy
of Ridgewood; and St. Stanislaus Catholic
Academy in Maspeth.
The diocese held an information
session last night, Wednesday, Jan. 17,
at the St. Pancras School auditorium
to inform parents of their options for
September.
St. Pancras School opened in 1908 at
the corner of Myrtle Avenue and 68th
Street; the current building opened
in 1950. For decades, the Sisters of St.
Dominic operated the school, educating
generations of children from
kindergarten through eighth grade.
The school grew into a community
fi xture hosting a variety of educational,
parish and athletic functions, including
an active CYO sports program.
WHAT LIES AHEAD...
While St. Pancras School will be
closing in June, the universal pre-kindergarten
program in place there will
remain in operation, Erstad said. It’s
funded by the city’s Department of Education
through the UPK NYC initiative.
The future of the St. Pancras School
building, however, remains unknown,
she added.
As for the faculty, Erstad said the
Diocese Superintendent’s offi ce “will
work to place every teacher from St.
Pancras” at another academy. Just 10
teachers are part of the St. Pancras
staff , and with as many as 200 anticipated
teacher openings next year, the
Photo via Facebook/St. Pancras School
diocese does not anticipating having
any problems fi nding new schools for
the teachers.
The diocese will also work to place
other St. Pancras staff members at
other schools around the diocese.
In a Jan. 11 email, state Senator
Joseph Addabbo expressed dismay
about St. Pancras School’s impending
closure. He also expressed concern
about the long-term fate of Catholic
education, which continues to battle
declining enrollment even as the Diocese
of Brooklyn and other dioceses
across the nation restructure their
education programs.
“It saddens me to see a fine Catholic
school forced to stop operations
due to a lack of funds and low enrollment
rates. St. Pancras has been
educating children and growing the
Catholic faith in Glendale for over
100 years and it is a shame to see that
come to an end,” Addabbo said. “I am
concerned for the students and parents
as they decide an educational
direction after St. Pancras.”
St. Pancras School in Glendale is closing permanently in June.
