With registration now open after the Archdiocese of New York decided to close 12 schools and merge four others into two at the end of the year, several parents and guardians are unsure of the next steps in their student’s education.

Some families say cost is a barrier, making it difficult to transfer within the archdiocese, as some options are too expensive.

“[Parents and guardians] want to invest in their children’s education, and this was the perfect viable option,” Priscilla Serrano said.

Tuition at Guardian Angel School, where Priscilla Serrano’s son Hudson Serrano attends, is lower than at some other Catholic schools.

Guardian Angel is one of the schools the Archdiocese of New York plans to shutter by the end of the year. 

The archdiocese says low enrollment is partially to blame for the closures in an email which notified parents of the closings.

Priscilla Serrano says that in hindsight, the closings should not be a surprise.

The archdiocese once operated more than 400 schools in the early 1960s.

By the end of this school year, it will have closed about 65% of its schools, leaving just 154 in an area stretching from Staten Island all the way up to Sullivan, Ulster and Dutches counties.

Fourth grader Noel Rausch at St. Gabriel School in the Bronx says she doesn’t know what school she’ll go to next year. 

St. Gabriel will close and merge with St. Margaret of Cortona School.

“I was really sad because I wanted to graduate from this school like my brothers did, and I cried,” Rausch said.

Her mother Kai-Lin Rausch says there are unanswered questions for parents concerned about their children’s quality of education diminishing.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress found that some Catholic school students scored higher on average in reading in math in 2022 than students from public schools.

But still, for other families, this has a financial impact. Priscilla Serrano, who lives in public housing with her family, says other Catholic school options are at least twice as much as Guardian Angel, and the sharp increase in tuition is not an option for her son Hudson.

The Archdiocese of New York responded to financial concerns in a statement.

“We’ve worked closely with our colleagues in finance and treasury to develop options for families that will make transitioning to a new school possible. From the beginning, we’ve reserved funds in our financial assistance budget to provide bridge assistance, what we’ve called special retention, to meet the gap between the tuition families were used to and what the cost might be at a neighboring school,” the statement reads.

The 12 Archdiocese of New York schools that will not reopen are listed below.

• Academy of St. Paul & St. Ann, Manhattan
• Ascension School, Manhattan
• Guardian Angel School, Manhattan
• Holy Family School, Bronx
• Immaculate Conception School, Manhattan
• Immaculate Conception School, 760 E Gun Hill Rd, Bronx
• Our Lady Queen of Martyrs School, Manhattan
• Santa Maria School, Bronx
• St. Angela Merici School, Bronx
• St. Brendan School, Bronx
• St. Christopher School, Staten Island
• St. Margaret Mary School, Bronx

Additionally, St. Francis Xavier School will merge with St. Clare of Assisi School, and St. Gabriel School will merge with St. Margaret of Cortona School.