Catholic school set to
close in Rockaway Park
St. Camillus Catholic Academy in Rockaway Park will close at the end of the school
year this June, according to the Diocese of Brooklyn. Photo via Google Maps
BY BILL PARRY
St. Camillus Catholic Academy
in Rockaway Park will be closed and
the end of the school year and two
Catholic academies in Brooklyn, just
across the border from Ridgewood,
will merge next year, the Diocese of
Brooklyn announced.
The two Bushwick academies — St.
Francis Cabrini Catholic Academy and
St. Brigid Catholic Academy — together
will be renamed St. Brigid-St. Frances
Cabrini Catholic Academy and the
school will be located at St. Brigid’s.
The decisions were made due to
declining enrollment and severe budget
deficits that have resulted, according to
the diocese.
The students at all affected schools
will be accommodated at nearby Catholic
academies. They will automatically
receive a $500 tuition assistance grant if
they attend an academy or parish school
within the Diocese of Brooklyn, as long
as they have met all of their financial
obligations. The one-time grant is
made possible by the St. Elizabeth Ann
Seton Trust.
“It’s an emotional time for the diocese
when schools have to close because it is
affecting the lives of students, parents,
and faculty,” Superintendent of Schools
Thomas Chadzutko, Ed. D, said. “The
decisions come after intense analysis
of enrollment trends and the financial
picture of each academy.”
At St. Camillus, the current school
year budget is running a deficit of more
than $20,000 and with deficits of more
than $100,000 for the two previous years,
the academy has limited funds to meet
expenses. Enrollment at St. Camillus
is down nearly 25 percent from just five
years ago.
At St. Frances Cabrini, the building
repairs have continues to increase and
last year, the Board of Directors spent
over $200,000 in unexpected repairs.
That, along with declining enrollment
there and at St. Brigid Catholic Academy,
is the reason for the merger.
“I respect the boards’ decisions
in these matters,” Chadzutko said.
“When resources are constrained,
if affects all aspects of the learning
environment, which eventually
impacts students and their needs. Our
children are our first priority.”
Information Night meetings will
begin next week when administrators
and personnel from neighboring
Catholic academies will be on hand to
present their programs and answer
questions that parents may have.
The merged St. Brigid-St. Frances
Cabrini Catholic Academy will be
designated an Embassy School and as a
result it will receive additional funding
from the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Trust.
The merged academy will also receive
technology updates to the infrastructure
through DeSales Media Group, the
communications, and technology arm
of the Diocese of Brooklyn.
“It is the goal of the office to assist
all parents in placing their children
in their neighboring school if they so
choose as well as working with faculty
and staff who have dedicated their lives
to Catholic education,” Chadzutko said.
“It is our hope that these changing
demographics of Brooklyn and Queens
stabilizes so that enrollment in Catholic
academies throughout the diocese can
increase in the future.”
Two other Catholic academies in
Brooklyn will also be closed after the
current school year. Mary Queen of
Heaven in Mill Basin with its enrollment
down nearly 60 percent from five years
ago, and Our Lady of Guadalupe in
Dyker Heights, with its enrollment
down 35 percent in the last five years.
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