NEW ORLEANS — Parents, students and alumni are calling for St. Joan of Arc Catholic School to remain open.
At the end of the school year, the doors at St Joan of Arc are set to close forever. Parents were notified of the closure last week.
Lashaune Williams is fed up with constantly having to find new schools for her kids. She says already had to take them out of St. Rita's when it closed down last January.
"This is the second time within a year, that my kids have to find a new home its not fair," Williams said.
She said it's costing families money, and taking a toll on the community.
"Uniforms aren't cheap, they're very expensive. I have two girls, six and 11. On average, I might spend $200 to $300 on uniforms alone and now I have to do this all over again," she said.
Williams said having to change schools will impact her 11-year-old daughter’s mental health, "She has anxiety, so right before this happened, she was coming out of her shell, now she's like I don’t want to do anything else."
Her daughter Ma'Layah Jones telling Eyewitness News, "I’m nervous to go to any other school cause I have built a bond with all the other kids.”
Monique Perrault, also a mother says the closure is like breaking up a family, "I instantly get sad because I thought this would be a place of home."
A letter emailed out to parents from the Archdiocese of New Orleans said, “For families participating in the Louisiana Scholarship Program: The Louisiana Department of Education has given us a deadline of Mon., March 20, 2023 to submit transfer requests.”
Mother and PTO President Misty Frye said, “We received notification today that we need to make a decision on new schools by Monday, its not realistic.”
Parents are asking how they’re supposed to research, tour and enroll students in a matter of days and are calling for a meeting with the superintendent and the parish.