BRAINTREE -- After 97 years, St. Joseph School in Medford has announced that it will close at the end of the 2025-26 school year.

In a statement to families, Father Tim Hynes, pastor of Mary Queen of Peace Parish in Medford, which includes the school, said that the decision was made "following a careful review of enrollment trends and a very challenging financial burden for the school and parish."

According to the school, enrollment at St. Joseph's had been declining for years, with a current total of 169 students from pre-K to eighth grade. During the 2021-22 school year, St. Joseph's served 222 students.

"Costs to educate students and maintain the building are increasing at rates that simply cannot be passed on to families," Father Hynes said.

With the help of the Catholic Schools Office, nearby Catholic schools are opening their doors to accept St. Joseph's students. Financial aid provided by the Catholic Schools Foundation will continue to support those students if they continue to attend schools supported or sponsored by the Catholic Schools Office.

"Our goal is to provide you options to continue Catholic education for your children and to work toward as smooth a transition as is possible for our students," Father Hynes wrote.

Catholic schools that are hiring for the next school year will be asked to prioritize former St. Joseph's staff members. The Catholic Schools Office is available to assist staff members with resumes and interview training.

"Our students graduate as models of faith, as well as responsible and accomplished members of society," Father Hynes wrote. "To say this is a heart wrenching decision is an understatement. Despite this news, as people of faith, we put our trust in God to show us the way."

St. Joseph's was founded in 1929 and operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. The school served a diverse student body representing 17 languages, predominantly Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole. Many of its students came from working-class and/or immigrant backgrounds. Parents with multiple jobs took advantage of the school's before and after-school childcare programs. In January 2025, The Pilot visited St. Joseph as part of its Forming the Future series, spotlighting Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Boston. Then-Principal Andrea Sullivan said that the school was special because it taught students "to be kind and good human beings."

"Our students are not rich financially, but they're rich in other ways," she said at the time. "They're very culturally rich. And they bring that to us."