HOWELL – After a local Catholic school in Howell Township announced that they will be closing their doors to students in June, families created a nonprofit in order to save it.
On January 7, parents and students of Mother Seton Academy were blindsided when a notice was put out stating that the school will be closing down permanently at the end of the school year.
“As co-directors of Mother Seton Academy, we write to you today to announce a sad, but unavoidable decision about the future of our school,” Rev. John P. Bambrick of St. Aloysius Parish in Jackson and Rev. Peter J. Alindogan of St. Veronica Parish in Howell, said in a letter to families, educators and staff.
“After careful analysis of enrollment and financial challenges; consultation with advisors at the parish and diocesan levels, and prayerful discernment of any available options, we must formally announce the closing of Mother Seton Academy at the end of the present school year,” the letter said.
The school opened in September 2019, merging St. Veronica School in Howell and St. Aloysius School in Jackson. According to the letter, enrollment has been a continuing concern for the school despite working hard to provide Catholic school education to the community.
The letter also explained how the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the parishes, resulting in them being unable to cover more of the school’s expenses.
The announcement of the school’s closure did not sit well with parents, many stating how the news was unexpected and did not know the school was having issues.
An online petition was created to gather signatures to keep the school open, as well as Facebook page to give updates on the situation.
“We want to save our school. We want to preserve the MSA family and Catholic education. We want a chance to keep our school open for our children,” Melissa Clemens, who create the online petition, said. “There was an abrupt email sent out on a Friday afternoon stating our school is being closed. There was no notice given. No options presented. No attempts made to keep this school open for the children.”
On January 27, the “Save Mother Seton Academy” Facebook page stated that families have come together to start the non-profit: Friends of Mother Seton Academy.
“Recently, our community was informed that Mother Seton Academy will be closing its doors at the end of this school year,” the organization wrote. “Our community is committed to Catholic Education and its values, keeping the doors open for our future generations. The MSA community have created a 501(c)(3) for MSA and are now raising money to save MSA.”
According to the nonprofit, the donation tally will be included in a proposal to the Diocese of Trenton Department of Catholic Schools seeking to convert MSA from a parish school to a Diocesan School.
The donation goal for the organization is $500,000. The Facebook page plans on posting donation updates as well as other resources on how to help the school.
For more information, visit facebook.com/savemotherseton to learn about the nonprofit or to make a donation.
