April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
ST. MARY'S

Oneonta's Catholic school closes

When Catherine Townsend was a student at St. Mary's School in Oneonta, the Sisters of Mercy would gather the students in the gymnasium every May to show the film "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima." The children would quietly sit in folding chairs as the nuns went through six reels of film.

Today, Mrs. Townsend, now the fourth-grade teacher at St. Mary's, shows the same film to her students on DVD. She watches them take on the same mesmerized look she wore when learning about Fatima.

This will be the last May she does so. After 87 years of educating young students, St. Mary's School is closing its doors. The community of 94 students and 13 teachers are saying their goodbyes to a school that has been an integral part of the Oneonta community.

Mrs. Townsend, whose father, aunt and two children also attended St. Mary's, has seen the school transition through her 29 years of teaching there.

She noted that, at one time, St. Mary's had students from six different school districts, as well as many different religious and ethnic backgrounds, "but it's always been a school of strong academics, morals, and discipline. That's what drew people to us."

Patty Bliss, principal of St. Mary's for the past three years, told The Evangelist that the closure is due to low enrollment and the struggling economy.

"When we started talking about this last year, our academics were just as strong as ever, but the demographics of the area are changing," said Ms. Bliss. "There has been a decrease of children; even the public schools' numbers have gone down.

"I just want to thank all the parents, teachers, and students for letting me be a part of their lives and making me feel at home from the very beginning. I will carry them in my heart always," the principal continued. "Now I'm just working on making every day special for the children."

As the school year draws to a close, there is a special event for the students each week. Last month, they had a "Freaky Friday" event on Friday the 13th, celebrated Cinco de Mayo and held a Memorial Day family picnic for students and their families.

There are special lunches, an ice cream social and a "Welcome Summer Day" planned; on the last day of school, there will be a Mass, the sixth-grade graduation ceremony and a barbecue.

With the closure of St. Mary's, the next closest Catholic school available to families in the Oneonta area is Holy Family School in Norwich, N.Y., 45 minutes away in the Syracuse Diocese. Many of the students are now dispersing to local public schools; some families are considering Christian schools in the area.

"The children are the ones dealing with having to move a new school," said Mrs. Townsend. "Some of them have been together for five or six years and now have to split up. They're scared and they're sad, so I try to not talk about it too much or keep it low key, because if one of them starts crying, I will, too."

"It's sad," Ms. Bliss agreed, "for the parents, teachers, children and for the community. Children flourish in a school with a Catholic identity."

But the principal is ultimately optimistic: "The children will take what they have learned here and their memories with them wherever they go. I'm not worried about them at all; they'll be just fine."[[In-content Ad]]

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