Immaculate Conception High School in Lodi to close for good at end of June
Immaculate Conception High School in Lodi announced it will close in June after 107 years due to a declining enrollment pool from Catholic elementary schools and financial headwinds, according to a statement released by the school's board of trustees on Friday.
The school, which is sponsored by the Felician Sisters of North America, has operated as an all-girls' high school since 1915. But multiple factors, including a faltering economy and the COVID-19 pandemic, overwhelmed a carefully plotted financial plan to float the institution through 2024, board chair George Abaunza said.
Its doors will close for the last time on June 30.
While trustees say they weathered the pandemic with deft adjustments to their classes and curriculum, the school was unable to overcome a decline in new students, grants and donations amid costly upgrades to the institution.
Although overall enrollment continued on an upward trend, according to Abaunza, Immaculate Conception ultimately suffered from fewer students arriving from feeder schools — nearby Catholic schools serving grades K-8 that provided a significant number of the high school's incoming freshmen.
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"This final decision was made after analyzing every possible option, plan, and strategic approach, but none was reasonably sustainable," Abaunza wrote.
The school said it announced its impending closure three months in advance to provide parents, students, staff, administrators and faculty ample time to find new schools or employment.
"We will work together to make sure each impacted individual finds a new path for their future," the statement reads. "In the Catholic tradition, we want everyone to come out of this transition stronger."
The school's alumni include Clifton's Rachel Zegler, the actress who played Maria in Steven Spielberg's 2021 movie "West Side Story."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Immaculate Conception High School in Lodi NJ to close
