-
Students from Mercy High School, San Francisco are pictured in this 2018 handout photo.
Jan. 13, 2020
Nicholas Wolfram Smith
After nearly seven decades of educating women, San Francisco’s Mercy High School will close its doors forever this June.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the closure of Mercy High School, an independent Catholic school sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy for the last 68 years,” Mercy Sister Carolyn Krohn, head of school, said in a Jan. 13 announcement.
Sister Krohn said the school’s decreasing enrollment, lack of a substantial endowment and growing operational expenses combined to make it impossible to continue financially.
The school seems to have been in part a victim of San Francisco’s changing character. The press release noted that “many families can no longer afford to live in the city and pay tuition on top of the cost of living.” Mercy sisters, on the other hand, committed themselves to educating young women regardless of their ability to pay tuition fees.
The trustees and administration were “incredibly disappointed” at the closure, Sister Krohn said. “We had so hoped that we would find a solution to Mercy’s challenges, but unfortunately, even with the multiple strategies we have explored, it is just not possible.”
Mercy committed to working with parents and current and potential students to ease their transition to other schools. Officials also said they would examine potential opportunities for students to continue their Mercy education at Mercy High School, Burlingame.
“During the coming weeks and months, Mercy’s focus will be on our students, our faculty, and our staff,” Sister Krohn said. “Classes and activities will continue as normal as the integrity of our educational program and the welfare of our students are of the greatest importance.”
On the school website and on its Facebook page, comments poured out mourning the closure. Alumna Joan Heintz Zimmer wrote she was “devastated” by the news. “I wish there was a magic button I could push to fix this, but there isn't so I will just have to cry and pray,” she said.
Alumna Vicki Vidmar Abrahamsohn said, “Times, unfortunately, have changed, and a place like an all-girls Catholic High school in the heart of the city cannot keep up, maintain teachers, or keep families that can pay the prices today.”
Recent graduate Raegan Ortega said Mercy “brought people together in a way where I was able to call everyone my family.
“This was the place that helped me break out of my shell, make new friendships & endless memories, and made me into the person I am today. Mercy taught me how to be a strong independent woman, helping me so much with where I am in my life right now," she said.
Sister Krohn thanked the teachers, staff and women religious who “exhibited dedication, and compassion while assisting young women in their dreams of a Mercy education.”
Mercy High School, San Francisco was founded in 1952 when auxiliary Bishop James T. O'Dowd of San Francisco asked the Sisters of Mercy to open a secondary school to educate young women in the Sunset, Lakeside and Park Merced districts.
When they opened Sept. 3, 1952, they had 199 students learning in a half-finished building. Since then, the school has graduated 11,000 women.