Trinity Academy closing next month
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Trinity Academy on West Cherry Street on March 21, 2021.
SHENANDOAH – Shenandoah’s long and rich history of parochial school education will come to a grinding halt next month, as Trinity Academy announced today that it is closing at the end of the school year.
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In a letter to parents, Trinity’s board of pastors announced that the school at Cherry and Chestnut Streets will close in June, at the end of the 2020-21 school year.
The board cites a dire financial situation — declining enrollments, budget shortfalls, and the coronavirus pandemic all leading to the depletion of school reserves.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic, the weekly parish collections over the last year have been far less,” the board wrote to parents. “With declining school enrollment, decreasing infant baptisms, limited parish reserves, and substantially less weekly parish income, there is not enough income for the school to remain open.”
“The decision to close Trinity Academy was not an easy one to make, however, we must be responsible for the good of the school and our parishes,” they added. The closure was reviewed by the Diocesan Council of Priests and the Diocesan Board of Education, and approved by Bishop Alfred Schlert.
“We are so grateful to Sister Margaret McCullough, IHM and the teachers and staff for all of their dedicated efforts with our students and to our parents for the many sacrifices they have made to support Trinity Academy,” the board writes. “Their efforts, particularly this year with the many challenges of the pandemic have been extraordinary.”
“We remain committed to provide our children with the opportunity of a Catholic education, via the Catholic School Continuation Grant. Information regarding the Catholic School Continuation Grant is included with this letter along with neighboring Catholic elementary schools,” they add.
The board says that Divine Mercy Parish is planning to sponsor a Pre-School Program at the Father Walter J. Ciszek Education Center for the 2021-22 school year.
“We explored many options to keep this school operating, but unfortunately there is no fiscally viable option,” said Dr. Brooke Tesché, Chancellor of Catholic Education in a media release.
“I recognize this is difficult for our students, parents, teachers and staff,” she said. “We hope that the two nearest Catholic schools in our diocese, Saint Jerome Regional School in Tamaqua, and Assumption BVM School in Pottsville, can become a new home to these families.”
The last day of school at Trinity will be June 10.
At one time, Shenandoah had multiple parochial elementary schools, including St. George’s on North Highland, St. Stephen’s on South Market, St. Stanislaus at Cherry and West, among others, as well as a Catholic High School, Shenandoah Catholic.
One-by-one, these buildings closed and were either sold off and used for storage or left to sit vacant. Most merged into the Father Walter Ciszek School in the building now housed by Trinity. Ciszek merged with other regional schools in northern Schuylkill to form Trinity in 2006.
Now, the county is left with a total of three Catholic elementary schools — in Minersville, Pottsville, and Hometown — and two high schools — near Hometown and in Pottsville.
The Trinity Academy Board of Pastors includes Msgr. Ronald Bocian, Shenandoah; Rev. Kevin Gallagher, Mahanoy City; Rev. Brian Miller, Ashland and Frackville; and Rev. Dominic Pham, Ringtown and Sheppton.
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