South City Catholic Academy will close at the end of the 2025-26 school year, the archdiocese announced on Jan. 9.
“This year, changes in parish financial capacity have resulted in a reduced contribution to the school, increasing the level of support required by the archdiocese,” Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski said in a statement. “At this time, continuing to provide a vibrant, high-quality education would require a level of subsidy that neither the partnering parish, nor the archdiocese, is able to sustain.”
After consulting with archdiocesan leaders to explore the possibility of continuing operations, it was determined that an annual archdiocesan commitment exceeding $675,000 would be required to remain open.
The Learning Center, sponsored by the archdiocesan Department of Special Education and housed at South City Catholic Academy, will be reconfigured as an inclusive, collaborative program in several area schools.
The archdiocese said it will provide placement assistance to South City Catholic Academy faculty and staff, as well as enrollment assistance to families seeking to place students in other Catholic elementary schools. More information about Catholic education and scholarship opportunities is available at archstlcatholicschools.org.
Scholarships through the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation and MOScholars will follow the student who received the scholarship, regardless of which Catholic school the student attends, to offset any tuition difference.
South City Catholic Academy was founded in 2017 as a partnership model school supported by Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Joan of Arc schools and the archdiocese. Those parishes, along with St. Mary Magdalen, then became St. Lucy Parish in 2024 as a result of All Things New.
“The school community of South City Catholic Academy can indeed be proud of their work of educating children in the faith,” the archbishop said in the statement. “I am profoundly grateful to them, to all the administrators, teachers, and staff who share their gifts to help raise children in our Catholic faith, and to the parents who make a commitment to Catholic education. Please join me in keeping all affected by these changes in our prayers. “
