Queen of Martyrs School in Evergreen Park closing due to declining enrollment, Chicago Archdiocese says
Queen of Martyrs School, a Catholic elementary school in Evergreen Park, will not reopen in the 2026-27 school year, officials announced Monday, citing declining enrollment.
"I recognize that this news is painful and the timing of this announcement is especially difficult. Families and staff deserve as much time as possible to prepare for the coming year and I am sorry that this decision is occurring in June," Greg Richmond, Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago wrote in a letter to Queen of Martyrs families.
According to the Archdiocese of Chicago, enrollment at Queen of Martyrs was expected to drop to about 140 students for the upcoming school yar, down from 178 this past school year, and more than 325 students in 2016.
The drop in enrollment "has left the school without the resources needed to sustain operations in the future," according to Richmond.
The Archdiocese said many families decided to leave the school in the wake of a scandal earlier this year, when a substitute teacher was fired after school officials learned of a long history of child molestation allegations in Illinois and other states.
Days after he was fired, 43-year-old Brett Smith was charged with sexually abusing a 9-year-old boy while working as a private tutor in southwest suburban Orland Park. He also has been charged with battery for making unwanted physical contact with a child at Queen of Martyrs in January by placing his hand on the student's hand while standing behind him, and pressing himself against the boy's back while he was at school.
Richmond said it became clear in recent weeks that a significant number of students would not return to Queen of Martyrs next year, partly due to the scandal, but stressed that enrollment has been dropping for years.
"That reality is painful to acknowledge. At the same time, the school's challenges did not begin this year and are not the result of a single event," Richmond wrote.
Richmond said, based on current enrollment projections, the school was facing a deficit of more than $400,000 next year, and the parish decided "depleting parish reserves to fund a deficit of this magnitude would not be fiscally responsible and would threaten the long-term mission and stability of the parish."
Queen of Martyrs opened in 1953. In 2002, the archdiocese combined Queen of Martyrs Parish with St. Bernadette's Parish to form St. Gianna Parish as part of a wider restructuring effort by the archdiocese.
Richmond said as a result of the decision to close Queen of Martyrs, the archdiocese will work with parents considering other Catholic school options for the fall.
"We are committed to helping families identify nearby schools and assisting with the transition as much as possible," Richmond wrote. "We also recognize the impact this decision has on our dedicated faculty and staff, who have given so much of themselves to the students and families of Queen of Martyrs. They will be supported with care and respect as they navigate this transition."
