For two months, the leaders of Rice High School in Harlem, challenged by a six-figure operating deficit and a 44 percent enrollment decline over seven years, have searched for ways to keep the boys preparatory school open. This wasn’t just another financially struggling Catholic school. This was a financially struggling Catholic school that sent every one of its graduating seniors to college, and the vast majority of those students came from impoverished households that required financial aid.
This week, Rice announced that it would close its doors for good in June after 73 years.
A sad day. . . the street will no longer stop there.