St. Francis of Assisi School, an institution in Greenwood for the last 67 years, could close its doors if at least a dozen more students aren’t registered by Tuesday for next fall.
As of this morning, according to Principal Jackie Lewis, 48 students had registered — 12 short of the 60 that school officials say is the absolute minimum to continue.
“May 1 is the determining date,” Lewis said. “We feel pretty sure we’re going to get that number.”
The Rev. Joachim Studwell, the Franciscan priest who oversees St. Francis parish, including the school, said he and everyone else at the school really want to see it continue.
“We’re looking for a minimum enrollment of 60 to stay open, and we have room for many, many more,” he said. “We are working toward opening next year, and we are also looking at the current reality.”
Declining enrollment at St. Francis has been the trend for the last few years. In 2015, the school had 121 students. This year, it has 88.
Lewis said there is no clear pattern to explain the falling numbers, but she speculated on possible causes.
“Greenwood Public Schools opened a new pre-K program last year, and I think that kind of took some of our students away, or parents that would have considered bringing their children here changed their minds.”
St. Francis serves children in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.
Another issue, according to Lewis, is cost. Families who are financially able pay $3,000 per year in tuition, but many students have to rely on scholarships to cover the cost.
“Donations from benefactors are down at the same time,” Lewis said. “We never know from one year to the next how much we’ll be giving out in scholarships.”
Studwell said that is a trend across the Catholic Church in the United States, not just at St. Francis.
“People in Greenwood have been very generous in supporting us, and we are most grateful for their ongoing generosity,” he said.
Still, much of St. Francis’ support over the years has come from Catholics around the country.
“The broader base of donors has been diminishing. People are dying. It’s not a sudden thing.”
Studwell said the school, from time to time, gets large individual bequests, when patrons name the school in their wills, but “that’s one of those things that can’t be scheduled.”
The school began in 1951 as an outreach program of the Franciscans, who established St. Francis Catholic Church in Greenwood, aiming their ministry at the underserved and the poor, especially in the African-American community.
Over the years, the school came to be known as an academically rigorous place where families of all races and faiths could come and be assured of a quality education for their children.
“We try to promote Christian values in a place that’s a safe environment for the kids,” Studwell said. “We are respectful of the diversity of belief systems of those who come to the school.”
In recent years, St. Francis has served a growing number of Latino students.
Sister Kathleen Murphy is a kindergarten teacher at the school who came to Greenwood from Wisconsin a decade ago and taught before that at schools spread across the country, including in Hawaii and Nebraska.
What’s unique about St. Francis, she said, is “the atmosphere of the school.
“We try, just as all schools do, to provide the best education,” she said. “Here, people really know and care about each other. The parents, students, faculty and staff — it’s very much a family.”
Murphy said many of the families with children at St. Francis are stressed with multiple jobs, worries about immigration status and other factors.
“We offer a really safe haven for the kids,” she said. “It’s a consistently warm and loving and safe place for them to come.
“To me, that’s what’s uniquely offered.”
Murphy said she has been moved during her time in the Delta by the welcoming spirit of the people, and by families who genuinely want the best for their children.
“To try and give them that is a real privilege for me.”
This year, Murphy’s kindergarten class has “nine amazing students,” a number she said she’d like to see grow, even though it’s “a dream” to have a class that size.
As for next year, she said, “We’re putting it in God’s hands and doing what we can in the meantime.”
The registration fee for St. Francis is $200 until May 15 and then rises to $250 after that. To learn more, call 453-9511.
•Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
