05/16/2020
We have to share the sad news that today school families and faculty were notified that The Wilkes School at Grace & St. Peter’s will be closing as of June 30, 2020.
In a letter to the parents of students, the Board President, Edward Hargadon, and Board Chairman, Reverend Christopher Pyles, explained that while enrollment has been steadily declining for years, the onslaught of COVID-19 has depressed enrollment for next year to the point that continued operation of the school was not possible. On top of that, the school building needs hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs, which the school simply does not have.
Hargadon and Pyles said that in the past several years, “the School Board, and our Head of School, Ms. Patty Barry, have worked tirelessly to cut costs, increase enrollment, and raise revenue, while maintaining the unique atmosphere and the quality education for which our school has always been known… The regrettable fact is that while our efforts have produced a number of positive results, we have simply run out of time and money to turn around the situation.”
Hargadon and Pyles assured the parents that the school stood ready to help families in transitioning to a new school and expressed gratitude to families and faculty for their efforts.
