After 60 years a popular Hudson Valley grammar school has announced that they will not be reopening in September.

During mass on Sunday, Father Brendan Fitzgerald announced that Regina Coeli School in Hyde Park will be closing for good. The announcement was shared on the Friends of Regina Coeli Facebook page and was met with shock and disappointment by many parents and students.

They could not have provided a warmer, more caring and friendly atmosphere for... our family. What a blow to education in Dutchess County.

Facebook user Theresa Orlowski-Hallock wrote "Soooo sad! My daughter just had her First Holy Communion this May." Alyssa Kogon also added her displeasure at hearing the news by posting, "Even though we are Jewish, we sent our daughter to Friends of Regina Coeli School. They could not have provided a warmer, more caring and friendly atmosphere for her and our family. What a blow to education in Dutchess County."

In 2012 the Archdiocese of New York targeted a number of schools in our area for closure, including Regina Coeli. When the final list of 22 schools were announced the following year,  Regina Coeli was one of the lucky ones that escaped the death sentence. But now it seems that their luck has sadly run out.

Regina Coeli School opened its doors in 1955 and grew in popularity through the 1970s. A two-story wing was eventually added to the original building, which added 8 additional classrooms to accommodate the increase in attendance. Since the 1990s, enrollment in Catholic schools has seen a sharp decline across the country, forcing many to close their doors.

Yolanda Buther, another member of the Regina Coeli Facebook community vented her frustration on the continued closing of Catholic schools in the Hudson Valley region:

This news makes me so angry. Year after year the Archdiocese of NY has been abandoning it's people and communities by closing their schools. It's all about $$money but they expect their parishioners to shell out the $$money to support them. Sorry for Hyde Park, very sad day.

We want to know your thoughts on the closing of another Catholic school in our region. Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

 

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