Catholic school in Hyde Park closing
HYDE PARK, N.Y. » St. Peter’s School, which is more than 175 years old, is among 20 Catholic schools being closed by the Archdiocese of New York.
The Archdiocese said in a press release that the COVID-19 pandemic is to blame for the closure of the Hyde Park school and 19 others. It said the coronavirus has had a “devastating impact on Catholic school families and the greater Archdiocese.”
“Mass unemployment and continuing health concerns have resulted in families’ inability to pay their current tuition, and a significantly low rate of re-registration for the fall,” the release stated. “... Months of canceled public Masses and fundraising for scholarships have [caused] a loss of parish contributions which traditionally help support the schools.”
According to its website, St. Peter’s School opened in 1844 and is the oldest
Catholic school in New York state, serving students in grades prekindergarten through eight. The school, which had a most recent enrollment of 270 students, moved from the city of Poughkeepsie to its current location, at Route 9G and East Dorsey Lane in the town of Hyde Park, in 1965.
In Orange County, Divine Mercy School in New Windsor is closing, the Archdiocese said.
The Archdiocese also announced it will merge three schools in Orange County: Sacred Heart in Monroe and St. Stephen-St. Edward in Warwick will merge with St. John in Goshen, where all classes will be taught.
Other Catholic schools in the Archdiocese that are closing are in Bedford, the Bronx, Manhattan, New Rochelle, Pelham Manor, Shrub Oak, Staten Island, Suffern and Yonkers.