St. Catherine School began eight decades ago with kindergarten and grades one to four, adding a grade each year until it was a K-8 campus. (Courtesy St. Catherine School / 2022)
By Celia K. Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
After eight decades of providing elementary education on Kauai, St. Catherine School in Kapaa will become the latest Catholic campus in Hawaii to cease operations.
The school’s closure at the end of the academic year next month comes despite “tireless efforts to sustain its mission,” according to a May 1 press release.
Kauai now has just one Catholic school left — St. Theresa School in Kekaha — after being home to four campuses for decades. (Holy Cross School in Kalaheo and Immaculate Conception School in Lihue both closed in 1991.)
St. Catherine had faced significant financial and enrollment challenges in recent years, with a $300,000 shortfall reported in 2022 and a student population this academic year of 45 despite a capacity of 300.
“St. Catherine’s challenges are no different than parochial schools nationwide,” Mandy Thronas-Brown, who served as the school’s interim principal while also continuing in her role as associate superintendent of Hawaii Catholic Schools, told the Hawaii Catholic Herald.
Thronas-Brown cited factors including rising operational and labor costs, increased competition with other private institutions and the task of hiring and maintaining an experienced team of administrators as contributing to St. Catherine’s struggles.
“Additionally, the impact of COVID-19 compounded these difficulties, leading to low enrollment and financial strain,” Thronas-Brown said.
St. Catherine was founded in 1946 with a kindergarten and grades one to four; a grade level was added each subsequent year until it became a kindergarten-through-eighth grade institution. A virtual high school existed for a short time in the mid-2010s.
To stave off closure, families and the school administration had looked at alternative educational models, Thronas-Brown said. Chief among them was a “microschool” that would have been based on the one-room schoolhouse, in which students of various ages share a classroom but follow curriculums tailored to their grade levels.
However, that setup would have required a minimum enrollment of 50 students, Thronas-Brown said. Parents are now considering other schools or homeschooling centered on Catholic faith-based education, and staff members are also weighing next steps.
“We wish to thank every teacher, administrator, priest, nun, family member and student who chose to be a part of St. Catherine School legacy,” said Father Nicholas “Nick” Apetorgbor, administrator of St. Catherine Parish, in the press release.
St. Catherine has been led by religious women for much of its history. It was staffed after its founding by the Sisters of Charity of the Virgin Mary until 1969, when Dominican sisters took over until 2000.
It would be more than two decades before nuns returned to campus: In 2022, three Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Christians arrived in Kauai to join the ministry at St. Catherine Parish and School.
Thronas-Brown said she was “completely devastated” when it became clear St. Catherine School had to shut down.
She was also principal of St. Ann School in Kaneohe when that campus shuttered three years ago. The two closures continue a disturbing trend that since 2018 has seen Saint Francis School in Manoa, Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Ewa Beach, and St. Anthony School and St. John the Baptist School in Kalihi end operations.
“At one time, we had 36 Hawaii Catholic schools and we are now down to 27 once St. Catherine School closes,” Thronas-Brown said.
She praised the commitment of parents “who make educating their children in the faith a priority” and “sacrifice everything to send their children to a Catholic school,” but noted that the number of such families is falling, which is contributing to the struggles of Catholic schools nationwide.
Other private institutions, Thronas-Brown said, also have resources that create more competition with faith-based campuses, particularly at the K-8 level. “Schools like St. Ann and St. Catherine find it harder and harder to compete and sustain their operations, leading to closures,” she said.
While the commitment of parents and families to pursuing faith-based education is essential to supporting Catholic schools, Thronas-Brown said “more can be done” to help support them.
Options such as school choice, which enables and financially supports parents’ decisions regarding the education they feel is best for their children, and charter schools already exist in other states.
“I pray that our state will move in this direction to secure the viability of all Hawaii Catholic schools and every private religious school as an option for our families,” Thronas-Brown said. “The closing of St. Catherine School certainly prompts reflection on the future of Catholic elementary education in Hawaii.”
Despite its impending closure, St. Catherine School held its annual carnival May 3-4 with entertainment, games and rides for keiki.
And to commemorate its legacy and the individuals who have been part of its history, a farewell Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Larry Silva on June 5. The 5 p.m. Mass will be followed by a dinner hosted by St. Catherine Parish and School.
To RSVP for the June 5 events, contact the school at (808) 822-4212. The deadline is May 17.
