By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
INWOOD — Parents of students at the Good Shepherd school spread the good news around Tuesday — the school will remain open, despite threats of closure by the Archdiocese of New York because of its low enrollment.
The school, located at 620 Isham St., is one of four to be saved from the chopping block in New York and is the only Manhattan Catholic school that was deemed viable from the Archdiocese's November list of 32 "at-risk" schools across the city.
"The committee has acknowledged that four schools originally designated as 'at-risk' have created viable long-term plans so that they no longer require archdiocesan subsidies, and will remain open," the Archdioce’s Web site read Tuesday.
According to Joseph Zwilling, director of communications for the Archdiocese, Good Shepherd was able to demonstrate that it would be viable over the course of the next several years.
"They were evaluated on realistically being able to initiate new programs, increase enrollment, eliminate their subsidy, and increase fundraising," Zwilling wrote in an e-mail. "Good Shepherd submitted a plan that gave the reconfiguration committee reason to believe that they would be able to meet those goals."
In Manhattan, Saint Joseph of the Holy Family and All Saints, both in Harlem, as well Our Lady of Sorrows on the Lower East Side are slated to close this year, according to the Archdiocese.
The Archdiocese has not yet determined the fate of Sacred Heart of Jesus School in Hell’s Kitchen and has extended time for a committee to further assess the school’s viability before making a final decision within the next few months.
In Inwood, parents and alum celebrated the news on Facebook and after school let out Tuesday afternoon.
"The neighborhood banded together and it showed because Good Shepherd is the only school in Manhattan that is staying open," e-mailed Regina Christoforatos, whose daughter Zoe Garcia attends the K-8th grade Good Shepherd.
Christoforatos was one of the community members who fought to keep the school open by creating a petition and a proposal outlining ways to keep the school open.
A plan hammered out by alum, parishioners, parents and the school’s administration was presented to the Archdiocese in early December and included a fundraising drive, the creation of an alumni association, a possible early education facility along with a five-year fiscal and academic plan for the school.
"I'm overjoyed at the news," said Dalba Castrillon, a parent from the school and one of the petition organizers. "All our hard work has paid off, and we have been given a second chance to revive this school. God has blessed Good Shepherd School today."
