Christ the King School in Terrytown to close

By Peter Finney Jr., Clarion Herald

Citing financial struggles and declining enrollment that had slumped below 200 students, the Archdiocese of New Orleans announced Jan. 17 that Christ the King School in Terrytown would close at the end of the academic year in May.

The school, which opened in 1963 and enrolled students in grades pre-K3 through 7, currently has just 189 students, said Dr. RaeNell Houston, superintendent of Catholic schools.

Houston met at the end of the school day on Friday with Christ the King’s pastor, Father Michael Nam Hoang Nguyen; principal Dawn Swear Castillo; and the faculty and staff.

“No one wants to see a school closed, and we realize how painful it is because this is someone’s community, and many of these parishioners and families have been there with children for many years,” Houston said. “No one wants to see a community go through this.

“We have tried many efforts to avoid having to close the school, but those efforts have not been successful.”

Notified parents

Houston emailed a letter to all school families after the meeting, and Father Michael informed his parishioners at all Masses on the weekend of Jan. 18-19.

“Basically, it’s a financial decision and a situation of declining enrollment,” Houston said. “It’s not an academic quality situation. It is strictly financial and enrollment. When the enrollment dips below 200, you cannot sustain offering quality educational programs with the numbers we have.”

Houston said the school’s enrollment had been declining since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and “the last couple of years it had slipped below 200 students.”

Because of its enrollment, the Office of Catholic Schools had been monitoring the status and viability of Christ the King for several years. In her letter to parents and parish families, Houston called the closure a “very difficult decision.”

“Please know that this decision was not made lightly and that many efforts were made to keep the school open,” she wrote.

Houston said staff members of the Office of Catholic Schools would come to the Christ the King campus in  coming weeks to meet with families “to explore their Catholic school options in an effort to make their transition as easy as possible.”

She said the office also would assist the 31 full-time and part-time members of the faculty and staff in finding possible new assignments in other Catholic schools.

“In the immediate area of Christ the King School are St. Cletus and St. Anthony (in Gretna), St. Andrew the Apostle (in Algiers) and Immaculate Conception (in Marrero ),” Houston said.

All four schools offer grades  pre-K through 7, but St. Andrew the Apostle and Immaculate Conception take students as young as infants.

“We’re asking the Christ the King community to join us in prayer throughout this difficult time,” she said.

Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at [email protected].