We have recently been informed by Father Joseph Devine that our beloved St. Brigid St. Augustine Partnership School in West Hartford, CT will be closing at the end of this school year.

St. Brigid-St. Augustine Partnership School in West Hartford is such a culturally rich and diverse Catholic School with over 20 different ethnic backgrounds. They nurture our children both academically and spiritually, as well as through community service. The SBSAS bond of community and family is extremely strong as many of the faculty and administrative staff are either second or third generation alumni. 

Our School has been a safe-haven for so many of our students that have come from area public and magnet schools seeking refuge and have found comfort in their new healthy learning environment. These children are now at a loss because their safety zone is now being ripped away from them. We fear for their mental and academic well being. Our demographics are exactly the ones the Archdiocese should be tending to like the Good Shepherd instead of shunning them and leaving them to fend on their own. 

We wish the Archdiocese and Fr. Devine would reconsider closing our school this year as most of the children attending S.t Brigid-St, Augustine Partnership School have been put through this before and some multiple times. While Fr. Devine told us we "should have seen the writing on the wall"  we did not as our school runs on donations and scholarships alone and our school has seen new enrollments and commitments for the 2020-2021 school year. It feels like our children are being punished for circumstances beyond our control. We weren't even given a chance to bring forth a proposal or a solution to come up with the funds to try and save our school. 

So where is the element of Catholic Social Teaching the Archdioceses makes the Catholic Schools include in their lesson plans? The teach our children such principals as Call to Family, Community, and Participation as well as Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. Don't we teach our kids it is only rhetoric if not put into action? All this tells us is that OEEC and the Archdiocese don't practice what they preach. They are certainly not following the Beatitudes Jesus gave to us as a guide on how to live our lives! Where are we seeing "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." which teaches us about Jesus' love, empathy, and mercy toward others?

We respectfully call on the Archdiocese and Fr. Devine to reconsider closing our school at the end of our 2020 School year. 

PLEASE HELP SAVE OUR SCHOOL!