The Erie Catholic School System announced on February 14th, 2025, that Blessed Sacrament School will be permanently shutting down at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. This decision was made by the Erie Catholic School System Board of Directors, whose choice was based on declining enrollment.
Ann Carlin, board chair of the Erie Catholic School System, stated in a press release that Blessed Sacrament’s enrollment dropped 52% since the Erie Catholic School System was established. Despite the huge decrease of enrollment, current students and families of Blessed Sacrament are shocked and hurt.
“I don’t think Blessed Sacrament should close,” Marshall Spitzer, a seventh grader at Blessed Sacrament, shared. “I think the Erie Catholic School System should’ve gave Blessed Sacrament more time. In my opinion, the school has gotten better in the past couple of years. I think if we had 2-3 more years, Blessed Sacrament would’ve had much more positive growth.”
Marshall has been going to Blessed Sacrament for nine years and is currently in seventh grade. Marshall and his fellow seventh grade classmates are forced to spend their last year in middle school at a whole new school. There is a high possibility that classmates and friends will be separated next school year. The other Erie Catholic Schools’ enrollment will skyrocket as Blessed Sacrament kids scramble to get into their first choice of school.
The decision to close Blessed Sacrament is a controversial one with significant factors on both sides of the argument: to keep or to close.
“I don’t think Blessed Sacrament should remain open,” Camryn Morschhauser, a current Cathedral Prep Junior who graduated Blessed Sacrament in 2022 after attending it for 10 years, shared. “Blessed Sacrament shaped me into a better person, however, at this point in my life, I won’t miss it. I enjoyed my time when I was younger at Blessed Sacrament, and I hold many special memories from that time. With that being said, my last few years at Blessed Sacrament were not very good. It shaped into an unorganized and toxic environment. The classes became smaller every year due to a lack of students. No one really learned anything, and we were very unprepared for high school after we graduated.”
In the past few years, most students and families became happier with the Blessed Sacrament structure and system. However, since it’s unlikely that any decisions will be reversed, many Blessed Sacrament families are looking back at the memories that this school has given them.
“I made so many memories and got so close with my friends at Blessed Sacrament,” Marshall added. “I don’t know where we will all end up, but I am thankful for the lessons Blessed Sacrament has taught me. Lessons such as maturity and studying skills, that I know will help me later on in life.”
From the annual Student Christmas Fair, to the times spent on the well-loved football field, Blessed Sacrament is gushing with memories of friendship, fun times, and formative experiences. Legacies and traditions of Blessed Sacrament might be dissolved, but it will never be forgotten.
