Although several Catholic schools in the area have been forced to close in recent years, Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore’s Johnston Square neighborhood is expanding.

The school announced plans this week to open a middle school program for grades six through eight beginning this fall.

Curtis Turner, Saint Frances’ head of school, said the main motivation for the new program came from community partnerships with middle-school-aged students, including an afterschool program in the Saint Frances Community Center. The new school will be located on the floor above that center in the same building as the high school.

“It was those young people and their families who first motivated us to explore ways to serve these young people during the school day as enrolled scholars,” Turner said. “It was that void we were seeking to fill.”

In the past several years, some Catholic schools in Maryland have shuttered their doors, including St. Agnes Catholic School in Catonsville, Maria Goretti Catholic High School in Hagerstown and the Institute of Notre Dame in downtown Baltimore.

However, Turner said the closure of those institutions was not the main impetus for Saint Frances’ expansion.

“We believe that even if all of those schools remained open, there would still have been a need and demand for this type of education in East Baltimore,” he said. “So the closing of the Catholic schools in the surrounding area was certainly a contributing factor, but not necessarily the main catalyst.”

The inaugural class of middle schoolers will number about 12 students with a capacity for 15 and further expansion in the future, according to Turner. The 194-year-old Saint Frances won’t accept students beyond those already identified through its community partnerships until fall 2026. Details about the application process will be made available in December.

Saint Frances did not disclose the initial tuition costs. High school tuition and student fees for the 2024-’25 school year were $12,400, according to the school’s website.

The middle school has already received approval from the Maryland State Department of Education and has confirmed that it will have accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools upon opening, Turner said.

“This expansion of our academic offering to serve middle schoolers during the school day is a natural and necessary step in fulfilling our mission,” he said.

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