St. Florian, Notre Dame for Girls schools closing July 1

Two Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago learned June 16 that they will not reopen this fall.

St. Florian School, 13110 S. Baltimore Ave., and Notre Dame High School for Girls, housed in St. Ferdinand Elementary School at 3115 N. Mason, both “have faced declining enrollment and financial difficulties over the past several years,” according to a statement from the archdiocese. “Enrollment to date for the next school year at St. Florian School is 49 students and enrollment for the next school year at Notre Dame High School for Girls is 31 students. Despite best efforts to restore the schools to viability, finances and enrollment have not improved.”

The decision to close each school was made in consultation with each school’s local boards, parish leaders, the archdiocesan school board and the Office of Catholic Schools, according to the statement.

The archdiocese had announced plans to close St. Florian in 2014, but the school was able to raise enough money to stay open that year.

Jesse Terrazos, whose son Gabriel just finished seventh grade at St. Florian, said the archdiocese gave the school a chance to survive on its own after the closure, but it simply wasn’t able to attract enough families to enroll.

“The archdiocese extended to us the opportunity to become self-sufficient, and we made a very strong campaign,” said Terrazos, who spent 11 days dressed as Santa on the school roof in December 2014 to raise money. “Had we been successful, we wouldn’t have had to do this.”

Terrazos said the move will be difficult for his son and his classmates, most of whom have been together since preschool.

“They have known each other almost since they’ve been out of diapers,” he said. “Then they have to go to a new school next year, and then to a new school when they start high school the year after that.”

Saira Bensett, a member of the parent’s club marketing group whose son is going into sixth grade, said the school used to have families crossing the border from Indiana, but most of them left after Indiana began offering vouchers to help its residents pay for private schools in their state. Other families moved across the border to Indiana to take advantage of the offer, and some Indiana schools, with thriving enrollments, were able to charge less for tuition for Illinois families.

“We worked for the last seven years to get enrollment up,” she said.

At the same time, there was changing leadership in the school and parish, and after the archdiocese put the school on the list to close in 2014, it was more difficult to attract families.

“I think that cloud was always over St. Florian after that,” Terrazos said.

Notre Dame High School for Girls was founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1938 and moved into the school at St. Ferdinand when the congregation ended their sponsorship of it in 2009.