Archdiocese Eliminating Grades 6-8 At School In Carmel

CARMEL, NY — The Archdiocese of New York announced Wednesday that three schools in the Hudson Valley will eliminate grades six, seven and eight, including at a school in Carmel.

In the Northern Westchester/Putnam Region, the affected schools are St. James the Apostle School in Carmel and St. Columbanus in Cortlandt Manor.

The schools will eliminate grades six through eight next year, while continuing to offer a Catholic education for children entering grades pre-K through five.

On the Archdiocese’s website, parents whose children attend the affected schools are instructed to contact the director of enrollment for their region who will help them review alternative schools and select one that best fits their needs.

For the Northern Westchester/Putnam region, the alternative schools are in Yorktown Heights, Fishkill, Hopewell Junction, Ossining and Somers.

The other school where grades six through eight will be eliminated is Most Precious Blood School in Walden in the Ulster/Sullivan/Orange Region.

The news of the elimination of three grades was accompanied by the decision to close 12 Catholic schools in Manhattan and the Bronx and to merge four Bronx schools into two schools.

In the frequently asked questions section on its website, the Archdiocese acknowledged that this was upsetting news.

“Only after extensive broader community research, detailed studies and careful deliberation did we make the difficult decision to close, eliminate grade 6-8 or merge schools,” the statement said.

“Shifting demographics and lower enrollment, made worse by the pandemic, have impacted the financial stability of these schools,” the Archdiocese said.

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