SF Chinatown Catholic school to suspend operations

After nearly 100 years in operation, St. Mary’s School in San Francisco will suspend operations at the end of this school year because of low enrollment and financial instability, archdiocese officials said Tuesday.

The K-8 school, which offers a bilingual Mandarin program, failed to lure more students despite a marketing and recruiting effort, said the Rev. Bartholomew Landry, pastor of Old Saint Mary's Cathedral and Chinese Mission, in a statement.

Currently, 80 students attend the K-8 school, with another 26 in the preschool, according to Mike Brown, spokesman for the archdiocese.

The school was among the first Catholic schools in the city, opening in 1921 to serve the Chinese community.

“We have one of the newest school buildings in San Francisco and we plan to make a comeback,” he said of the school located at Kearny and Jackson streets.

Landry noted that up to 35 percent of the school’s middle school graduates have been accepted to the academically competitive Lowell High School each year, with others going on to other competitive private and Catholic schools.