Students bid sad farewell to Pius V High School

Mott Haven school falls victim to cost-cutting

Class had just let out for the students at St. Pius V High School. They chatted outside the building and walked home together, but Glenda Israel took a moment to consider the last chapter of her high school life.

“It’s going to be a tough readjustment for us next year,” she said.

Like the rest of her classmates, Israel will not come back to the school on 500 Courtlandt Avenue, where she is a junior.

On January 11, the Archdiocese of New York announced its decision to close the all-girls high school, along with 26 other schools citywide in an effort to cut costs.

Although known in the area for its academics, St. Pius its enrollment was dwindling and it relied heavily on subsidies from the archdiocese, according to Fran Davies, the archdiocese’s assistant superintendent for communications in education.

Responding to St. Pius’s inclusion on a list of “at-risk” schools in November, its principal Sister Mary Jo Lynch said a weak economy and rising education costs had proved to be too damaging. Located in one of the poorest sections of the Bronx, the school provided some form of financial assistance to half its students to help them pay tuition, she said.

In addition, the growing number of charter schools in Mott Haven have attracted students away from St. Pius, Lynch said. .

“Even though they are for the most part, untried, they are free,” said Lynch in a statement. “If students are accepted, they offer a viable alternative to neighborhood public schools, which are often deemed unsafe.”

For Kelly Peña, a senior, the announcement that the school would close was emotional.

“It’s heartbreaking. It’s sad. It’s like a second home to us, and this is where many of us got second chances,” she said. She explained that many of the students could not get accepted at other local Catholic high schools because of their grades, but that Lynch gave them an opportunity to prove themselves.

According to teachers and students, many did do better at their studies during their time at St. Pius, thanks to the school’s small class sizes and a program called “academic Fridays,” when students got extra help from their teachers.

Other students however, took the news in stride.

“I feel bad for the girls who were here and who are juniors now, but it doesn’t affect me since it’s my first year,” said Desiree Lopez, a freshman.

For juniors, the school closing was both emotional and nerve-wracking.

“I planned on graduating from here,” said Brianna Gutierrez. “My mother graduated from here, so it’s just hard to try to readjust to a new school, new environment.”

Then there’s the question of what comes after high school.

“Since it’s our junior year, it’s really tough because now we have to readjust for our senior year and we have a lot of college applications that we’re going to be filling out and looking for college,” said Glenda Israel.

Teachers are also trying to sort out their futures.

“I think the diocese – I should say the archdiocese – is doing a disservice to a bunch of kids who are going to have a tough time getting as much personal attention and as good an education as they are used to getting here elsewhere,” said teacher John D’Kelleher.

Tameka Farrell, a science teacher, said she was devastated by the news, but knew that there was little anyone could do about it.

“It’s a lot of factors beyond our control, and I know I’m definitely not happy about it, our students are definitely not happy about it, but at this point all we can do is hope for the best and hope that our students are strong enough to make the best of the situation that they’re in,” she said.

Teachers said that they would start looking for jobs at the end of the school year.

Lynch, the school’s principal, declined to be interviewed, saying that there was nothing more to be said about the situation.

“I’m just tired,” she said over the phone.

None of the students interviewed knew where they would be next year. Most girls said that they were considering other Catholic high schools nearby, in the Bronx and Manhattan, although some said that they would probably go to public school.

Gutierrez and Israel said that the archdiocese was helping students enroll in other Catholic schools in the area. They were also told that tuition would not increase. Instead, students would pay the same rate even if their new schools normally charged more.

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