St. Joseph School Plans to Close This Month

Former St. Joseph’s School, 26 Broadway. (File photograph.)

St. Joseph School of All Saints Parish. (Courtesy photograph.)

St. Joseph School of All Saints Parish, a Haverhill Catholic elementary school since 1888, is closing its doors at the end of the school year.

The closing displaces 133 students, ranging from nursery school to eighth grade. Faculty, staff, parents and students received the news Wednesday. The school is located near Lafayette Square.

“It is with profound sadness and regret that I announce that the school at 56 Oak Terrace is closing at the end of June,” said Pastor Timothy Kearney. He explained in a letter the school’s enrollment has dropped 51 percent since 2012 when the total number of students was 269. “Efforts to increase student enrollment and retention of students have met with limited success,” he added.

It may not be known until fall registration begins how many of the students will transition into public schools.

Kearney said the nursery and pre-kindergarten program will continue at the Early Childhood Center, 120 Bellevue Ave. He said the kindergarten program might also be retained if there is enough interest.

The school had recently employed 12 full-time teachers, six part-time teachers and two classroom aides, according to a fact sheet provided by the school. Displaced teachers are being placed on a priority list for any vacancies at other Catholic schools.

The school targets children from Haverhill, Lawrence, Merrimac, Methuen, Groveland, Mass., and Atkinson, Hampstead, Kingston and Plaistow, N.H.

15 thoughts on “St. Joseph School Plans to Close This Month

  1. It is very sad that St. Josephs School is closing. This must be very difficult on the families, faculty and staff. My kids have been at Saint Michael School in N. Andover for 11 years and the school has become a second family. I can’t imagine how sad we would be if our school closed.

  2. I hate to see good private schools close. I only wish I had sent my son to a Catholic primary school, I did wake up and sent him to St. Thomas Aquinas for high school and he thrived there! Wonderful education, well worth the expense. He’s in college now and has adapted really well because of his St. Thomas education and experiences.

  3. my family all attended st. josephs school and st james high school after that.., for 3 generations. then in 1971 when my dad divorced my mom with 3 little kids & she could not afford the monthly ” donation” we were asked to leave the school!! even after father la’plante promised that would not happen! shame on st josephs for abandoning our family.. just like my dad did..

  4. Another fatality in the political lefts’ war on religion. Imagine if parents had control of their own money and were given a voucher for school choice. This school would be expanding not closing. So sad.

    • We do have school choice already – I’ve used it. The major problem is that the city or town you want to send your kids to either do not have room, do not participate, or do not provide transportation (which is what I ran into). The city doesn’t like it because the city has to pay the entire cost of your child going to the receiving school.

    • Jack, church attendance is declining and has been for decades. That’s why the St. Joseph’s School is closing. It has nothing to do with politics.

  5. So sorry to hear, but not surprised. Many good memories in my family. At least 4 generations of attendees. Goodbye. st. Joes.

  6. St. Joseph’s School means so much to our community. I,m sure there are a lot of happy memories that will last forever in the minds of the attendees and parents over the many years that the school served our community. Lets hope there is a way to overturn the decision to close.

    • Amen to that Joe. There has to be a way to save such a vital asset to the community and more importantly to the children who go there.