Will County Gazette

Bolingbrook’s St. Dominic Catholic School will close at the end of the school year. 

The school first opened in 1966. Principal Sister Marie Isaac has led the school since 2014. 

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce that St. Dominic Catholic School will close at the end of the current school year on May 27,” Isaac said in a message to parents. “In recent years, we have seen regular declines in student enrollment. Annual student enrollment, which is tallied on the sixth day of classes at the start of each academic year, has dropped from 253 in 2016 to 175 in 2021 — a 31% decrease." 

The school principal also stated that the number of students declined further through the current school year which now stands at 165. One primary reason they noted is family relocations. 

“Our school is supported through tuition and subsidies from St. Dominic Parish and St. Francis of Assisi Parish, both in Bolingbrook," Isaac said. "Our enrollment goal for the upcoming school year was between 169 and 178 students, and we have registered 140 students so far for the fall. The deficit we face is too wide to fill with the resources we have. We credit the talented faculty and staff and supportive parent community for the quality Catholic education our students received over the years.”

Parents have quickly organized attempts to save the school. Iris Alvarado has taken her campaign to Facebook. 

“We encourage everyone who is able to come to our peaceful protest on Friday, May 6," Alvarado said in a Facebook post. "We are meeting at the old Target at 349 S. Weber Rd. in Romeoville at 9 a.m. We will then proceed to the Diocese office in Crest Hill at 9:30. If it rains, we plan on having a car parade. We plan on protesting until lunchtime. If you bring your children, have them dressed in school uniforms. Please, pass it along.”

The diocese has offered parents $500 to enroll their children in other schools in the network. 

"Our hearts are heavy today, but the leadership at both the diocese and the school have come to the same sad conclusion," Michael J. Boyle, superintendent of Catholic Schools Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet, said. "The time has come to close St. Dominic Catholic School.”

The Diocese of Joliet suffered another loss earlier this year when Bene Academy vowed to go secular in the wake of a poorly handled employment matter with a married LGBT teacher.

Chicago-area Catholic schools have seen a steep enrollment decline over the past two decades. In 2003 they were 117,000 in such schools. By the 2018-19 school year that number had declined to 69,000 and continues to drop.