The Saint Vincent de Paul School on Taylor Avenue in East Haven is one of two local Catholic pre-K to 8 schools to close at the end of the 2015-’16 school year. Parish officials said that changes in demographics and the same declining enrollment faced by area public schools led to the decision, which also affects the Saint Gabriel School in Milford. The East Haven school currently serves 88 students.

Parish officials publicly announced the closure late on Jan. 26 after notifying students’ parents in person at school meetings that day. They also announced in a press release plans for tuition support for students relocating to other schools as well as job placement assistance efforts for the teachers who will be out of work after June.

Portions of the press release and a FAQ follow:

Saint Vincent de Paul School

Following a highly-consultative process first undertaken between 2010 and 2012 and resumed several months ago by a steering committee of diverse stakeholders, Reverend Thomas A. Sievel, pastor of Saint Vincent de Paul Church, and Sister Judith Carey, RSM, facilitator of the Steering Committee, met with parents to explain the financial deficits, changing demographics, and downturned enrollment trends that necessitate the closing of Saint Vincent de Paul School at the end of the 2015/2016 school-year. The parish school as it exists today, educates pre-K4 through grade 8 students. With a student enrollment capacity of 250, the official October 2015 enrollment census is 88 students.

During the informational meeting with parents, Father Sievel described the fiscal “realities” of the 52-year old parish school within the context of the “heroic efforts” put forth by the school’s board, trustees, parish and finance councils, donors, staff, faculty, and numerous community volunteers who worked “tirelessly” in recent years—all “trying to push back the powerful tide of rising costs and indebtedness amid declining enrollment and birth rates.” These trends affect Catholic and public schools alike in East Haven. Father Sievel said that the parish-owned Saint Vincent de Paul School building will continue to be used as a religious education center for close to 300 students (grades 1 to 10) within the parish community, as well as a gathering place for parish meetings and activities.

“In recent years, Catholic and public schools in Connecticut have experienced a significant downturn in enrollment,” said Superintendent of the Office of Catholic Schools Dale Hoyt, Ed.D. “Despite $400,000 of financial support from the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal, the Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Support Program (CSSP), and other subsidies since 2008, combined with the extraordinary generosity of local donors, enrollment revenue is not nearly enough to sustain Saint Vincent de Paul School. It has exhausted its financial resources and carries more than $71,000 in past due employee benefits as of Dec. 31, 2015.”

Tuition Scholarships Starting 2016-’17 School-Year for St. Vincent de Paul/St. Gabriel School Students:

To assist parents in the transition and welcome students to a new academic home, the Office of Catholic Schools will offer each transferring student a $500 per year tuition scholarship for two consecutive years. The two-year tuition scholarship may be used at any Catholic school within the Archdiocese of Hartford. In addition, the parish of Saint Mary in Milford will provide a $500 tuition scholarship to students who transfer from Saint Gabriel School to Saint Mary School for two consecutive years.

Neighboring Catholic Schools

In addition to Saint Mary School in Milford, the following is a list of other Catholic schools in South Central Connecticut:

Saint Mary School, Branford

Saint Rita School, Hamden

Saint Stephen School, Hamden

Our Lady of Mercy School, Madison

Saint Aedan – Saint Brendan, New Haven

Saint Bernadette School, New Haven

Saint Francis-Saint Rose of Lima School, New Haven

Saint Martin de Porres Academy, New Haven (nativity model school)

Our Lady of Victory School, West Haven

Saint Lawrence School, West Haven

Job Placement Assistance

The Office of Catholic Schools will assist faculty in attempting to find similar positions within the Archdiocese of Hartford. Due to the desirability of such positions, the Office of Catholic Schools has a high level of success in helping to place academic professionals.

Historical Profiles

Saint Vincent de Paul School was founded by Reverend L. W. Weston, who was pastor of Saint Vincent de Paul Church. Originally its faculty was composed of Sisters of Charity and Sisters of Mercy Northeast who taught academic courses and religious education to the parish community. Saint Gabriel School was established by Father Francis Bratton, Pastor of Saint Gabriel Church, the Sisters of Notre Dame and the parishioners of Saint Gabriel Church. When both schools opened, they were primarily staffed by consecrated women religious who taught as part of their ministries. Today, salaried lay teachers staff both schools.

FAQs About Saint Vincent de Paul School and Saint Gabriel School

Q: Why has the Archdiocese of Hartford closed Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Gabriel Schools?

A: The Archdiocese did not close the schools. In both cases, the schools are parish-owned. Respective pastors, parish trustees and financial councils operate these schools as a mission and ministry of their parish. All school assets belong to the parish, not to the Archdiocese. Due predominantly to fiscal deficits and challenges, as well as significantly downturned enrollment trends and birth rates, the pastor and his parish leadership team, requested that the schools be closed after a highly collaborative process with a diversity of their stakeholders, including members from the parish school board and parents. This was a local parish-based decision, not an Archdiocesan one.

Q: Why did both parishes wait until now to close their schools?

A: Closing any school requires much care and thoughtful deliberation, as it is a highly consultative process involving participation and input from many stakeholder groups. Given that schools are academic homes to many students and families and are integral parts of communities and parish life, both Saint Vincent de Paul School and Saint Gabriel School took the requisite time to thoughtfully and thoroughly consider whether the schools had to close or whether their missions could remain viable.

Q: Have parents been informed of the financial situation and the downturned enrollment?

A: Each year, the school administration in collaboration with the parish school board, is required to provide parents with a “state of the school” that includes fiscal, demographic and academic information.

Q: Why can’t the Office of Catholic Schools and/or the Archdiocese of Hartford financially help both schools?

A: The Archdiocese of Hartford and its Office of Catholic Schools have provided significant financial support for the operation of each of these parish schools for many years. In the case of Saint Vincent de Paul School, despite $400,000 of financial support (since 2008) from the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal, the Archdiocesan Catholic Schools Support Program (CSSP) and other subsidies, as well as the extraordinary generosity of local donors, such financial support was not nearly enough to keep the school open. The parish school has exhausted its financial resources and will end the 2015/16 school-year carrying more than $71,000 in past due employee benefits as of Dec. 31, 2015.

For the calendar-year ending on Dec. 31, 2015, Saint Gabriel School has a $111,709 operating deficit, despite a direct parish subsidy of $348,789, $60,000 from the CSSP and $15,000 from the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal.

Q: How do parish schools operate?

A: The pastor has the overall responsibility for the parish school and is ultimately responsible for the fiscal and plant management of the school. The pastor and the parish trustees consult with the parish financial councils in operating all parish ministries and consult with the parish school board in connection with the operation of the school ministry. All school assets belong to the parish, not to the Archdiocese. For this reason, the decision to make changes to any parish-owned school is thus a local one.

The cost to sustain parish schools has increased substantially over the years, including employee salaries and benefits. While costs have increased, tuition at Catholic schools has traditionally remained significantly lower than tuition at private schools in an effort to make them more affordable for families.

Q: How many students are currently enrolled at Saint Vincent de Paul School and Saint Gabriel School? What are each school’s enrollment capacity?

A: With a student enrollment capacity of 250, the official October 2015 enrollment census shows that 88 students are enrolled at Saint Vincent de Paul School. With a student enrollment capacity of 250, the official October 2015 enrollment census shows that 139 students are enrolled at Saint Gabriel School.

Q: Will my child receive the same excellent, faith-filled education that he or she did at Saint Vincent de Paul School or Saint Gabriel School?

A: All 50 parish or private elementary schools within the Archdiocese of Hartford are co-educational centers of excellence and are designed to provide students with a faith-based, rigorous curriculum that promotes academic achievement and cultivates community service and social responsibility. Firmly rooted in the principles of the Catholic faith, these schools have a proven track-record for offering safe and supportive settings in which students are nurtured to thrive academically and spiritually. All of the elementary, middle, and high schools of the Archdiocese of Hartford are accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), a prestigious accrediting agency that sanctions such esteemed New England institutions as Harvard and Yale Universities.

In 2014-2015, Catholic school students in the Archdiocese of Hartford, both elementary and secondary, achieved far above grade levels and have exceeded national benchmarks on their respective standardized assessments. At the same time that Connecticut and national test scores are declining, testing data among the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Hartford is showing a steady incline. The Iowa Assessments are administered to Catholic elementary students in grades 3 through 7 each spring. Catholic high school students’ achievement is assessed by the SAT. College-bound students in the nine Catholic high schools perform better than their peers both nationally and within the State of Connecticut on all sections of the SAT. Particular areas of academic strength include critical reading and writing.

The Office of Catholic Schools also reports a 100 percent graduation rate, as compared to a national 82.3 percent graduation rate for students attending public schools. Upon graduation from a Catholic school within the Archdiocese of Hartford, 98 percent of students attend two- to four-year colleges or universities. For more details, visit http://bit.ly/1OMKIHN .

Q: Can children with special needs receive an education in a Catholic school?

A: Yes. For example at St. Mary School in Milford, student assistance teams are in place to evaluate Instructional School Plans (ISP) and tailors programs to meet the students’ needs.

Q: What will happen to the school buildings when Saint Vincent de Paul School and Saint Gabriel School close at the end of this academic year?

A: The Saint Vincent de Paul School building will continue to be used as a religious education center for close to 300 students (grades 1 to 10) within the parish community, as well as a gathering place for parish meetings and activities. Saint Gabriel Church will review its options regarding the property, including its possible sale or lease. It needs funds to pay for the cost of the school’s operations in the 2015-2016 school-year.

Q: How many Catholic schools exist within the Archdiocese of Hartford?

A: In 2015-’16, Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Hartford are educating more than 13,400 students in 50 elementary schools and nine secondary schools.

Q: How many employees will be affected as a result of this local decision?

A: Nineteen part time/full time employees currently work at Saint Vincent de Paul School and 24 at Saint Gabriel School.

Q: Are there any other schools within the Archdiocese of Hartford that are scheduled to close?

A: A number of parish schools are facing serious difficulties, despite significant financial assistance from the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal and the Archdiocesan Catholic School Support Program. There are several parishes that have already exhausted their savings in an effort to keep their schools open. With enrollment and birth rates declining, coupled with fewer Catholic parents willing or able to send their children to the parish school, closure in these cases becomes inevitable, unless alternative solutions can be developed within the parish community. Before a school is closed, the option of merging or combining a school is considered. A recent example is seen in Southington where Saint Thomas Parish and Saint Dominic Parish—each with its own school—came together to create one new school named Southington Catholic. Another recent example is in Bristol where area pastors, along with many other stakeholders, forged a new elementary school model http://bit.ly/1ZOB3J6 as a result of a highly collaborative process.

Q: Are only Catholic schools experiencing a decline in enrollment in Connecticut?

A: Catholic and public schools throughout Connecticut are both experiencing downturned enrollments due to a confluence of factors including declining birth rates and the state’s outward migration trends. Between 2003 and 2013, the number of annual resident births in the Archdiocese of Hartford declined from roughly 19,000 to 17,500 (15 percent), according to the Environmental Systems Research Institute (This same source reports that Hartford County declined 12.5 percent, Litchfield County dropped 25.6% and New Haven County fell 12.9 percent). Similarly, the Town of East Haven is currently considering a “redistricting plan” for its public school system that includes potentially closing three school buildings, grade reconfigurations, and more. (“Superintendent Presents Redistricting ‘Plan C’ to BOE,” East Haven Courier, Dec. 17, 2015.)

In addition, other recent news reports indicate that Connecticut’s outward migration ranked among the 10 highest rates in the nation. Census data show that more people have moved out of Connecticut than have moved in for at least the past five years. According to the Hartford Courant’s “State’s Outward Migration Continues” (Oct. 26, 2015), Connecticut’s census data “has shown an overall exodus in recent years,” due to an aging population, retirees moving out of state, fewer young people moving in and young adults having fewer children and/or are prolonging childbirth. With major Connecticut-based businesses such as General Electric relocating their headquarters out-of-state, Connecticut’s outward migration may increase.

Q: Do students educated at Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Hartford score higher on standardized tests than public school students?

A: Yes. In 2014-2015, Catholic school students in the Archdiocese of Hartford, both elementary and secondary, achieved far above grade levels and have exceeded national benchmarks on their respective standardized assessments. At the same time that Connecticut and national test scores are declining, testing data among the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Hartford is showing a steady increase in test scores. The Iowa Assessments are administered to Catholic elementary students in grades three through seven. Catholic high school students’ achievement is assessed by the SAT. College-bound students in the nine Catholic high schools perform better than their peers both nationally and within the State of Connecticut on all sections of the SAT®. For more details, visit http://bit.ly/1OMKIHN.