Kenmore, N.Y. (WBEN) - Four months ago, the Buffalo Catholic Diocese announced the upcoming closure of not just the St. Andrew's Parish in Kenmore, but also the St. Andrew's Country Day School on the corner of Elmwood Avenue and Sheridan Drive.
Tuesday was a somber day for many associated with St. Andrew's Country Day School, as students celebrated their final day of classes before summer break, and subsequently moving to another school to further their education.
The school and the parish are expected to close by the end of the month.
"We established ourselves here. It's a good community school, we loved our kids going here, it's a nice tight-knit community. It's been great going here. It's just sad to see that it's ending," said Kyle Duchene, parent of three students that attended St. Andrew's school.
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"I'm mostly emotional for my kids. We have been part of St. Andrew's family since 2015, the girls started in Pre-K 3, so we've always envisioned graduating, and they always said, 'We want that sweatshirt that says Class of 2026.' So it's difficult, but I truly believe God does have a plan. Maybe that's just part of his plan that we don't understand right now," added Kate, who is the parent of two girls at St. Andrew's.
Teresa Weston says her daughter has been very sad, and unable to stop crying when she realized this was the last week and last day of classes at St. Andrew's.
"Everyone loved this place so much, and loved each other. For us to have to be split up, it's just so unfortunate, and really could have been avoided," said Weston in an interview with WBEN.
For Katie Condon, her two kids actually finished school on Friday, but she wanted to bring them back just to see the school again and some of their older friends before it closes for good. The emotions run deep for Condon, as she, too, was a student, and also a parishioner at St. Andrew's.
"It's been a tough challenge, especially because St. Andrew's has been home to me for so long. I went here, my brothers and sisters went here, we go to St. Andrew's Parish and the parish is closing. It's a sad and unfortunate thing to have to deal with," said Condon with WBEN.
Meanwhile, fifth grader Lennon has been a student of St. Andrew's for the last seven years. She was among the several students on Tuesday who were overcome with emotions upon dismissal.
"This kind of hit like a punch," said Lennon. "I wasn't emotional throughout the day, but when the announcements came on for the last time ever, it was very hard for me mentally, because I've been here for so long."
While Lennon has an exciting summer ahead before she begins sixth grade, she admits it'll be tough transitioning to a new school after establishing herself at St. Andrew's. However, she feels confident in starting anew at her new school once the next academic year begins this fall.
"I know a lot of people that are going to go to my future school, so it's going to be a lot easier. I've also shadowed at that school, so it's also going to be easier for me to make new friends," Lennon said.
Parents of students at St. Andrew's know it won't be an easy transition for their kids, especially when some students are heading to a school where they may not know others in their age group. For Duchene, his two kids that were still attending St. Andrew's are now going the public school route.
"It's a very daunting experience where they're so used to this. They had small classes, they were really able to focus on our kids. Going to a bigger [school], they kind of get drowned out, and they kind of regress a little bit," Duchene said with WBEN. "It's going to be a difficult task, I feel like, but we'll kind of make do. It's just the situation that we have. It's just sad to abruptly end like this."
In other cases, parents were lucky enough to see their kids heading to new schools with a number of their kids' classmates joining them.
"Our entire class, in its entirety, is transferring to the new school, so, at least, there will be a lot of familiar faces," Kate said in an interview with WBEN. "There will be a lot of new faces, new teachers, new hallways and new rooms. It's just going to be a learning experience and a learning curve, and we go through those in life."
Meanwhile, some parents like Weston made her decision for her daughter's education based on the fact that the school will not be under the direction of the Buffalo Catholic Diocese.
"One of the main reasons we chose Stella Niagara is because it's run by the nuns and not the Diocese," Weston admitted.
"Immediately, I spoke with a friend, a fellow parents here, who is on the board at Stella Niagara. My daughter and a few other families went to visit right after we found out that we were closing, so we plan on attending there. That's the only positive out of this is there's a few people that are going to be able to stay together."
In a prior interview with WBEN, St. Andrew's principal Pamela Giannantonio expressed her frustrations over a lack of communication with the Diocese regarding the future of the school, and what would happen with the property after the doors are closed for good. A number of parents with students at the school share some similar frustrations with Giannantonio.
"I think it's very unfair. There's people rooted in this school with their time. I know my wife has done bingo for the last decade or so, running them, and you have teachers that have been here for so long, and they expected to have a job and be secured. And now it's not there," Duchene said.
"It's been really tough. Us, as parents, like to be consistent with our kids, and know what our future is holding. To be pulled back-and-forth with, basically, major life changes that were hanging in the balance, and then we had to make major decisions, it's hard," Weston added.
Some parents fought hard, along with the school board, to do whatever needed to be done to keep the school open in Kenmore going forward.
"I know for a fact they promised that we would be open. Our school board worked so hard, and I'm so proud of our principal and our school board, and other members who worked so hard to come up with a plan to keep St. Andrew's going. And the Diocese wanted nothing to do with it. They didn't want to hear one single thing," Condon said.
Condon adds she feels the Diocese has known for a while that St. Andrew's was going to close. She further expresses her concerns that there's still more school closings to come with schools run by the Diocese.
"They, I'm sure, have a whole list of schools they plan on closing in the next six months, year, two years. They already know. It's unfortunate they just aren't honest, and tell parents just so they can plan. I mean, this was hard on all the kids at St. Andrew's and their families," Condon said.
In the larger scope, Kate is concerned with the future of not just the plan of the Diocese going forward, but the potential consequences of their decisions on the future of her children and others across Western New York.
"In the eyes of these young children, they've experienced nothing but pain, emotional pain associated with this. So going forward, that's the memory they're going to have," Kate said. "As a parent, yes, right now they go to church because we go to church. But once they grow up, it's going to be their decision. If this is one of their core memories, they may make different choices as to where, or if they do want to go to church. This is just an example of one family, and this is hundreds of families across Western New York, New York [State], the U.S. It's just concerning for the future of the church."