Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy announced that it will be closing in June, making this semester the final one for a school that has been open for over 100 years.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of OLPH Catholic Academy in June 2025 due to financial constraints and declining enrollment,” the school wrote in a statement on Feb. 7. “We are grateful beyond words for the dedication and hard work of our teachers, administration, parent volunteers, and students. They have poured their hearts into making the school
welcoming for families and ensuring every child receives a quality education. We also acknowledge with gratitude the generous alumni and parishioners who have supported us over the years.”
The school building opened in 1903 and was named St. Alphonsus. In 1917, it was changed to Our Lady of Perpetual Help School.
The Sunset Park school is located on the same block as the church which shares its name. There was also an all-girls high school located next to the building that closed in the 1990s.
OLPH is the latest of several southwest Brooklyn Catholic schools to close due to financial troubles, including Visitation Academy (2024), Bishop Kearney H.S. (2019), St. Agatha School (2017), Bishop Ford H.S. (2014), St. Finbar School (2008), and St. Michael’s School (2005).
Last year, the Diocese of Brooklyn also closed Salve Regina Catholic Academy, 237 Jerome St., and St. Catherine of Genoa – St. Therese of Lisieux, 4410 Ave. D.
CORRECTION: The opening of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy has been corrected.
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