Blessed Sacrament School To Permanently Close In June

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Blessed Sacrament School in Hollywood will be one of six Catholic schools in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles that will close for good in June. Archdiocese officials cited low enrollment, "shifting demographics" and "distressed finances" as reasons for the closures.

Students from Blessed Sacrament, along with the other five schools listed below, will be consolidated with nearby Catholic schools:

—Assumption School (Los Angeles)
— St. Catherine of Sienna School (Reseda)
— St. Ferdinand School (San Fernando)
— St. Francis of Assisi School (Los Angeles)
— St. Madeline School (Pomona).

"These six schools had been trying to overcome financial challenges long before the pandemic," said Paul Escala, Superintendent of Catholic Schools. "After careful discernment with Archdiocesan and school leadership, the decision was reached to consolidate these schools with nearby schools to create a union that would strengthen the school communities in the area so that all students can continue to receive the quality Catholic education that our schools provide."

According to the Los Angeles Times, about 350 students and 50 staff members, largely from working-class Latino families, will be impacted by the closures. Parents whose children attend schools that are set to close were given options on how they could continue their Catholic education.

“I don’t want to say we saw this coming, but we also knew the situation was very difficult,” Annabel Juarez, principal of Assumption School, told L.A. Times “It’s just been difficult for our school the last few years.”

City News Service contributed to this report.