Queen of Martyrs School, a Catholic elementary school in Evergreen Park, will not reopen for the 2026-2027 school year, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced Monday, setting off an attempt by area Catholic schools to recruit its students.
The decision to close the school “follows a significant decline in projected enrollment,” the archdiocese said in a letter to school families signed by Greg Richmond, superintendent of Catholic schools.
Earlier this year, Queen of Martyrs substitute teacher Brett Smith, a 43-year-old Tinley Park resident, was fired and charged after a history of child molestation allegations came to light.
“As you know, events earlier this year, including concerns related to a personnel matter, shook the trust of some families and contributed to their decision to leave,” the archdiocese said.
Prosecutors said Smith made unwanted physical contact with a juvenile while working at Queen of Martyrs, placing his hand on the student’s hand and pressing his upper back onto the student’s back while conducting a school-related activity. He was charged with misdemeanor battery in relation to the incident.
Smith was also charged with felony aggravated criminal sexual abuse to a minor regarding alleged abuse of a 9-year-old boy in Orland Park.
At the same time, the archdiocese said, Queen of Martyrs has experienced a long-term decline in enrollment over the past decade. The school enrolled more than 325 students in 2016, but by this past school year, enrollment had fallen to 178 students.
Projected enrollment for the next school year was only about 140 students, the archdiocese said. Operating the school at such low enrollment would create a budget deficit of over $400,000.
“The decline in next year’s enrollment would create an under-resourced school, unable to provide the quality education students need and deserve,” the archdiocese said.
The school, at 3550 W. 103rd St., served students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Tuition and fees listed on the website was $6,500 for one student, with discounts for multiple students from a family. For two students the tuition cost was $10,900 and three students $14,100.
The archdiocese acknowledged the June timing of the announcement would be especially difficult for families, and said church and school leadership would help families find nearby schools for the coming school year and assist with the transition as much as possible.
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Shortly after the announcement, more than 10 Catholic schools in the area shared enrollment information, tours and open houses for Queen of Martyrs families.
Queen of Martyrs’ Facebook page shared ads from St. Cajetan Elementary School, St. Christina School, Christ the King School, St. Bede the Venerable School, St. John Fisher School and St. Barnabas School in southwest Chicago; St. Germaine Catholic School and St. Linus School in Oak Lawn; and St. Albert the Great Catholic School in Burbank.
Several parents with children arrived to an advertised tour at nearby St. Christina in Mount Greenwood Tuesday morning, though they declined to speak to the Daily Southtown.
Some commenters on social media criticized the flood of advertisements immediately following the closure announcement, while others noted families now only had a limited amount of time to register before classes potentially filled up.
Scott McDonald, director of communications for the archdiocese’s office of Catholic schools, said the surrounding Catholic schools each had at least double the enrollment of Queen of Martyrs, and were not dealing with the same issues of declining enrollment.
The school building is owned by St. Gianna Parish, which will determine what to do with the building, McDonald said.
Queen of Martyrs has been operating since 1953, according to its website. On social media, alumni and former teachers expressed sorrow at the closure and recalled fond memories stretching back decades.
“The legacy of Queen of Martyrs is not defined by a building, but by the enduring spirit of its people and the love of Christ that has shaped your community for more than seven decades,” Principal Jacqueline Reinhart of St. Bede the Venerable School, a Queen of Martyrs alumna, said in a letter shared on social media.
St. Bede the Venerable School is offering a 20% discount to Queen of Martyrs families, according to a graphic shared on social media.
“This news is painful, and we ask you to keep the entire school community in your prayers,” read a statement on the website for St. Gianna Parish.
The parish said that no one was available to comment on the closure. A call made to Queen of Martyrs went automatically to voicemail.
The archdiocese had named Beth Guerrero as interim principal of Queen of Martyrs in late January, replacing Principal Stephen Davidson.
In 2022, Queen of Martyrs fired Principal Jacob “Doc” Mathius for his pushback on the church’s COVID-19 mask requirement, which was lifted last week.