With enrollment for next year of only 41 students across its nine elementary school grades, the four pastors that sponsor St. Joseph Regional Academy in Jim Thorpe announced the school will close at the end of this school year in June.
A letter from the pastors was emailed to school families Friday afternoon announcing the closing. In the letter, the pastors noted that enrollment has declined significantly over the last four years, from 143 students in the 2014-15 school year to a current enrollment of 79 students. The school budget for this year was based on 95 students. Parents received an update on significantly declining enrollment in a communication from the pastors last month.
The enrollment declines have impacted the financial situation of the four sponsoring parishes: St. Peter the Fisherman in Lake Harmony, Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph in Jim Thorpe, and SS. Peter and Paul in Lehighton. The declines also have negatively affected the school’s financial situation.
It was expected that if the school remained open, the pastors wrote in their letter, there would have been an adverse impact on parents because of higher tuition and higher fundraising expectations, an adverse impact on the parishes due to the increased financial requirements, and an adverse impact on students because the financial burdens and low enrollment would impact the quality of education they received.
The pastor’s closure recommendation was reviewed by the Diocesan Council of Priests and the Diocesan Board of Education. After review of the financial, enrollment and parish information, along with the educational offerings of a school with so few projected students, the advisory bodies also recommended to Bishop Schlert that St. Joseph Regional Academy close at the end of the current school year. After prayerful consideration, Bishop Schlert accepted the recommendation for closure.
Catholic education will remain available to the students now attending St. Joseph Regional Academy. Enclosed with the letters emailed today was information regarding St. Jerome Regional School, which plans to move to a new location in Rush Township this summer and St. John Neumann Regional School in Palmerton and Slatington.
Catholic Education Continuation Grants are available for St. Joseph Academy families who want to continue their child’s education at another Catholic elementary school in the Diocese of Allentown. These grants would be for $1,000 in Year 1 (2018-19) and $500 in Year 2 (2019-20) for the first child in a St. Joseph family and $500 and $250 for second and third children.
The Board of Pastors has also committed to continue to help in the cost of bus transportation from Lehighton, Jim Thorpe and Lake Harmony for students to attend Marian Catholic High School. Beginning next school year, this will include the same transportation using the existing Marian bus for elementary students to the new location of St. Jerome Regional School.
The pastors closed their letter by writing, “Please know that each of you as well as your children, the faculty and staff and all those impacted by our school closure are in our prayers. Thank you for your support of St. Joseph Regional Academy over the years. We sincerely hope you will consider the opportunities available in other Catholic schools in our diocese.”
