On Friday, January 6, Catholics all over Philadelphia sat in waiting, anticipating important news from the Archdiocese. According to a press release issued by the Archdiocese, the Blue Ribbon Commission was planning to announce their strategic plan to “strengthen” Catholic education in Philadelphia. No matter how they describe it, it certainly did not feel like anything was being strengthened to people with kids in local Catholic schools. Parents and teachers knew that the announcement would hold the news of school closings in the city.

The feeling of dread was all too familiar to people in the river wards.  Five years ago, Holy Name of Jesus grade school was shut down due to low enrollment. Nativity, Our Lady Help of Christians and St. Adalbert Schools were all merged into a regional school, Our Lady of Port Richmond.  In 2010, North Catholic High School, which was attended by many in our community, was closed. Last year, St. Anne’s grade school was closed.

Although the rumor mill has been buzzing for weeks about which schools were to close, the actual news came down at 4 PM on Friday. The Archdiocese announced the closing of 4 Philadelphia Catholic High Schools and 44 Catholic grade schools in the city. In Fishtown, St. Laurentius School, which opened in 1890, was notified that they made the list and will merge with St. Peter the Apostle at 5th Street and Girard Avenue.

Doreen Thompson, of Fishtown, volunteers at St. Laurentius grade school helping out in the lunchroom and whatever else is needed throughout the course of the school day. Her 10-year-old son Patrick attends St. Laurentius as a 5th grade student. For kindergarten, he was registered to attend Holy Name, but the school closed down before his first school year started. Doreen said that both she and Patrick are devastated with the closing of St. Laurentius. She said Patrick was also very upset for his classmates who came to his school from St. Anne’s this year. “It’s a shame for those kids,” stated Doreen, “to have to be moved to a new school only one year after their last school shut down.”

Due to the closing of their school, some students attending St. Laurentius will be now forced to seek their third Catholic School in three years.

“I truly did not think we would shut down,” Thompson went on to say, “It was my understanding that we met all of the criteria to stay open.” What Doreen Thompson was referring to was the fact that the school was not running on a deficit. St. Laurentius also met the requirement for minimum enrollment, with more than 200 students attending the school. Furthermore, aside from grades K through 8, the school also has a pre-school program with almost 30 students enrolled.

“It is a very sad situation, said Sister Rita, principal of St. Laurentius School.  “We thought we were in good standing.  We are close to capacity and have done a good job meeting the needs of our children.  We have never received subsidy from the Archdiocese,” said Sister Rita.  “We were solvent.”

It seems that the children of St. Laurentius are being sent to St. Peter’s because of the size of the school. St. Peter’s building can accommodate the students from both schools, but St. Laurentius simply does not have that kind of room.  This leads to many questions.

“How are the kids going to get to school? Are they supposed to walk to 5th and Girard?” Doreen asked, “Will transportation be arranged? Or are parents expected to drop the kids off every day? What if they can’t?”

These are very good questions. Fishtowners never had to deal with the problem of not having a grade school in walking distance. St. Laurentius was the last Catholic grade school in the neighborhood.

Were problems such as this considered by the Blue Ribbon Commission when they made their decision to merge the schools?

“Life isn’t always fair,” said Pat Cain, Jr., whose daughters Ava (2nd grader) and Audrey (1st grader) attend St. Laurentius School.  “But true Fishtowners know that when faced with injustice, it is our responsibility to fight for what is right…especially when if affects our children.  Our role as parents is to exhaust every avenue to hopefully remain open,” said Cain.

Sister Rita announced that the school has registered an appeal of the Commission’s findings; however, she was not aware of the timeline for the appeal process.

In the meantime, Sister Rita said that she along with faculty and students will continue to work hard; and, if the findings of the Commission are found to be for the good of the children, then they will do everything they can to prepare their students.  “If our children have to go a new school, we want them to show their best record of their achievements here at St. Laurentius.”