Archdiocese announces closure of five schools

The Archdiocese of Chicago announced this week that it will close five schools because of low enrollment.

Incarnation School in Palos Heights; Our Lady of the Ridge in Chicago Ridge; St. Cyprian in River Grove, Holy Cross in Deerfield and St. Michael School on the city’s Southeast Side will close at the end of the 2017-2018 school year.

The low enrollment led to an increased financial strain on families and the archdiocese, said Anne Maselli, a spokesperson for the archdiocese.

“We’re working with families to help them transition to local Catholic schools and find schools that accommodate the needs of students,” Maselli said.

Andrea Covert, who has a son at Incarnation, worked with other parents to fundraise money for the school so it could remain open.

Wednesday’s announcement was “disheartening and angering,” she said.

Covert said that she and other parents at Incarnation were prohibited from merging their school with nearby Our Lady of the Ridge.

Maselli said that merging isn’t easy and “likely won’t happen at this time.”

“The archdiocese is displacing over 200 kids,” Covert said. “Everyone is scrambling now to get their kids into schools that have limited availability. It’s devastating and I feel for everyone affected.”