BELLEVILLE, Ill. — A Metro East Catholic school is closing this spring due to low enrollment.
Notre Dame Academy in Belleville announced on Facebook that it will close on May 31 this year.
St. Peter Cathedral Parish will assist families with placing students in other area catholic schools for the next school year. The post said the school has had enrollment "well below 100 students" since 2017, and U.S. News and World Report said the school has 61 students.
The school will also help find new jobs for teachers and staff members.
According to the announcement, the school has been around for more than 175 years, first as Cathedral Grade School, then as Notre Dame Academy. The announcement said the school had more than 1,000 students at one time, but attendance has been slipping ever since.
The announcement cited declining population in the area, aging buildings and a reduction in sponsorships from area parishes as reasons for the closure.
"Our principal, Mrs. Linda Hobbs, and I met on January 11, 2024, to discuss the financial impossibility of continuing past the current school year, and I informed Bishop [Michael] McGovern and [Superintendent Jonathan] Birdsong of our inability to support the school for another year on that day," the post said. "Bishop McGovern has accepted these difficult facts and the resulting decision."
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