For generations of families on Chicago’s Southwest Side and in Evergreen Park, Queen of Martyrs School has been more than a place of learning. It has been a cornerstone of faith, education and community life.
That chapter will come to an end this summer.
Chicago Catholic Schools announced June 15 that Queen of Martyrs School, 10233 S. Central Park Ave., will permanently close and will not reopen for the 2026-27 school year.
The decision, communicated to families in a letter from Superintendent Greg Richmond, comes after years of declining enrollment and mounting financial challenges that school leaders say have made continued operations unsustainable.
“With deep sadness, I share that Queen of Martyrs School will not reopen for the 2026-2027 school year,” Richmond wrote.
The announcement marks the end of a school that has educated children in the Mount Greenwood and Evergreen Park communities since the 1950s. While the former Queen of Martyrs and St. Bernadette parishes merged in 2024 to form St. Gianna Parish, the school continued operating under the Queen of Martyrs name.
According to the Archdiocese of Chicago, enrollment at the school has steadily declined over the past decade. More than 325 students attended the school in 2016. That number dropped to 178 students during the recently completed school year, with projections showing enrollment falling to approximately 140 students this fall.
School officials said the projected enrollment would leave the school unable to provide the educational experience families expect from a Catholic school while also maintaining financial stability.
The archdiocese estimates the school would face a deficit exceeding $400,000 during the upcoming academic year. Leaders determined that using parish reserves to cover those losses would jeopardize the long-term stability and mission of the parish.
Richmond acknowledged that the timing of the announcement is particularly difficult for families and staff who had been preparing for the next school year.
“I recognize that this news is painful, and the timing of this announcement is especially difficult,” he wrote. “Families and staff deserve as much time as possible to prepare for the coming year.”
The superintendent also referenced events earlier this year that contributed to enrollment losses. In his letter, Richmond noted that concerns surrounding a personnel matter caused some families to lose confidence in the school and influenced their decision not to return.
The controversy stemmed from the hiring of substitute teacher Brett Smith, who authorities later charged in separate cases involving allegations of child molestation and battery. The Archdiocese of Chicago previously stated that Smith used multiple aliases that allowed him to evade standard background screening procedures.
While Richmond acknowledged the impact of those events, he said the school’s challenges predated the controversy and reflected a longer-term trend of shrinking enrollment.
For many families, alumni and parishioners, the closure represents the loss of a longtime institution that helped shape generations of students through faith-based education.
In the coming weeks, archdiocesan officials and school leaders plan to assist families as they explore alternative Catholic school options for the upcoming academic year.