The Rosati-Kain Academy has signed a 25-year lease with the Archdiocese of St. Louis to remain in its longtime school building in the Central West End.
The archdiocese attempted to close the last remaining all-girls Catholic school in the city in 2022, but more than 200 alumni rallied around the school and raised money to keep it open.
Barbara Geisman, board treasurer and business manager for the academy, said the lease agreement, which begins July 1, provides a sense of security for the school and community.
“We are absolutely thrilled,” Geisman said. “It really gives us, our donors, alumni and our prospective students the confidence that Rosati-Kain Academy will be a part of this community for many years to come.”
The school will continue to be sponsored by the St. Joseph Education Ministries, which was founded by Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.
"We are incredibly fortunate to have such a deep and enduring legacy of academic excellence rooted in faith in the City of St. Louis. We recognize and support Rosati-Kain Academy's mission to provide young women with a strong Catholic, college-preparatory education,” said Delaney Clement, chief operating officer of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, in a statement.
The population of school-age children continues to decline in the St. Louis region. St. Louis Public Schools plans to close some schools before the 2026-27 academic year, and Confluence Academies will close Aspire Academy, a charter school, this fall.
Rosati-Kain projects that about 110 students will be enrolled in the 2025-26 school year but is rolling out a new marketing campaign in hopes of attracting more students from the region, including those living in the Metro East.
There were 125 students enrolled this year and a graduating class of 48 students, which is down from 188 students in the 2022-23 school year.
Geisman is confident that the decision to keep the school at its historic location on Lindell Boulevard will boost enrollment.
“We still want to remain a small school so that we can give individual attention to all our students, but at the same time, we'd like to grow our enrollment to an ideal 200 or so students,” Geisman said.
