A beloved Catholic school in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights is shutting its doors for good. Saint Brigid Academy is closing permanently after 136 years of educating local children, a decision confirmed by the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

The End of a Long Legacy

Saint Brigid first opened in 1888 as Saint Brigid School, serving students from kindergarten through eighth grade for well over a century. The announcement that it will not reopen comes just weeks before the 2026-27 academic year is set to begin in August, leaving families with little time to adjust.

According to Peter Marlow, the Archdiocese’s executive director of communications, the closure stems from a shortage in enrollment that ultimately took a toll on the school’s ability to operate.

Setting the Record Straight on the Settlement

The timing of the closure has prompted questions, particularly given the Archdiocese’s recent $395 million settlement with survivors of sexual abuse. Marlow was emphatic that the two matters have no connection.

He stressed that no archdiocesan school or parish is being closed to help fund that settlement, describing the events as entirely unrelated. The financial agreement, in other words, played no part in Saint Brigid’s fate.

A Bold Experiment in Specialized Learning

Saint Brigid’s recent history reflected an ambitious attempt to reinvent itself. Two years ago, the school changed its name from Saint Brigid School to Saint Brigid Academy as part of a transition toward a specialty model. The goal was to serve both neurotypical students and those with language-based learning and attention differences.

That move made it the first Catholic school in Northern California to adopt such an approach, a distinction the school proudly highlighted at the time.

To deliver on that mission, Saint Brigid deliberately kept its classes small, operating with a four-to-one student-teacher ratio so educators could offer highly personalized attention. While that intimate setting benefited the students it served, it also proved difficult to sustain. The small enrollment that came with the model ultimately left the school without enough students to keep its operations afloat.

Supporting Families Through the Transition

With the closure now final, the school’s leadership is focused on helping affected families land on their feet. Marlow said the principal is working individually with each family to find placements at other schools for the coming year.

He did not hide the emotional weight of the decision. Calling it a sad outcome and praising Saint Brigid as an amazing school, Marlow recalled attending a meeting with parents the previous week. There, he said, he listened to powerful testimonies about the school’s success and the way children thrived in the nurturing environment its educators had built.

A Neighborhood Institution Comes to a Close

Located at the corner of Franklin and Broadway in the heart of Pacific Heights, Saint Brigid had long been woven into the fabric of its neighborhood. When KRON4 reached out to the academy directly for additional comment, staff directed all media inquiries to the Archdiocese.

After more than a century of teaching generations of San Francisco students, Saint Brigid Academy now joins the ranks of cherished local institutions that have reached the end of their story, leaving behind a legacy of dedicated educators, close-knit classrooms, and families who called it home.