School Announces its Closing at End of the Year in New York

A letter from the school principal has confirmed that the school will close at the end of the school year.

Over the last fifteen years, Hudson Valley parents who are looking to send their children to a Catholic school in the Hudson Valley have noticed that there are less and less options (below). Not only has the Hudson Valley lost numerous Catholic schools but the entire state of New York has seen a sharp decline in options and it now appears that New York will lose another school at the end of the 2025 school year.

New York Catholic School Closing

Preston High School, an all-girls Catholic school in the Bronx, NY has announced that it will close at the end of the school year according to the Bronx Times. The school, which was founded in 1947, notified parents of the school's plans to close on February 25th saying,

"Preston High School’s Board of Trustees has made the most difficult decision to close the school at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. Due to declining enrollment, Preston’s financial capacity limits the long-term future viability of the school."

Soon after being notified of closure, many parents expressed frustration stating they had no idea the school was in financial trouble. One parent told the Bronx Times that they believed the closing was connected to the owner of the property where the school is located.

SEE ALSO: Retailer With 21 New York Locations Plans to Close at Least 200 Stores

Although the school closing is in the Bronx, many Hudson Valley residents can sympathize with parents, as we have lost many Catholic schools over the years.

Catholic Schools Options in the Hudson Valley

Before we rundown how many schools we've lost over the years (below) let's start with what's still an option for families. There are still select Catholic parishes that offer a Catholic school education across the Hudson Valley including Kingston Catholic School in Kingston, St Mary's in Fishkill, Holy Trinity School, and St. Martin De Porres School in Poughkeepsie, New York but before 2015 there were many more.

Catholic Schools Close Across the Hudson Valley, NY

Since 2011 over five different Catholic schools have closed including St. Augustine in Highland, NY which closed back in 2011. St. Joseph School in Kingston closed in 2017, along with John A. Coleman Catholic High School in Hurley, NY in 2019.

St. Mary's Elementary School in Wappingers Falls, New York closed in June 2019. Although they have reopened and now offer Pre-K, Kindergarten, and multi grades according to its website.

In 2020 we first learned that St Peter's in Hyde Park, the oldest Catholic school in New York State, would be closing after 150+ years. Schools aren't the only places that are struggling. Last year we saw these retailers shut down multiple locations....