Seton Academy

Many families in the Rochester area were greatly disappointed when the Diocese of Manchester made the difficult decision to close St. Elizabeth Seton School (“SES”). While understanding the difficulties facing the school, the Seton Foundation, a private non-profit entity, was formed by a concerned group of parents and supporters dedicated to the singular mission of maintaining Catholic Education in Rochester for its residents and students from nearby towns.

With joyful praise for the faith in Catholic education by those SES families and other devoted partners, we are pleased to announce we are actively working towards opening a private PreK - 8 elementary school in the Catholic educational tradition in the Holy Rosary Church Classrooms for the 2022-2023 school year. 

The school will be a private Catholic school operated by the Seton Foundation; it will not be a diocesan or parish school. While we will be a private entity, we are committed to being recognized as an authentic, Catholic school by Bishop Libasci and are working towards that goal with the Diocese. Following the model of numerous other private Catholic schools nationwide, the Foundation will be responsible for all aspects of operating the school – including funding, personnel, curriculum, and location. Our goal is to find a permanent home in Rochester in the future. 

In the fall our doors will open at the Holy Rosary Parish center. We are very thankful to Bishop Libasci and Father Paul for this opportunity to use the outstanding facilities in the Church Hall for our school as it allows us to focus on licensing, insurance, staffing, curriculum, and many other logistics requiring attention so we can open this fall. 

The Foundation is committed to fostering an environment where the Catholic faith is central to the educational philosophy of our school and faithful to the Catholic tradition of formation of the minds and souls of our children. We are proud of our Catholic faith and want our students educated in that faith as an extension of your families and our parishes. We intend to uphold and instill Catholic morals and values while welcoming all who wish to attend regardless of their faith or background. We expect consistent and frequent interaction with our parents and families, the parishes and priests in our area, and those in the consecrated life. 

We expect that we will grow rapidly in the coming years, relocate into a permanent location and expand grade offerings, extracurricular activities and programs. We are starting small to ensure the highest degree of focus and success as we begin our journey. This change offers us the unique opportunity to reimagine our curriculum, focus and incorporation of faith in educating our children. We have much to do before September, but we are very confident this school will open and will be fully operational in the fall. 

Q: What is tuition and how can i enroll my child? 

A: Tuition for School calender year will be $6000. We are currently taking intake forms for all interested parents and will have full enrollment forms out by end of June. Intake form can be found on our admissions page.

Q: What ways are you looking for people to get involved? 

A: • Potential board members for our Foundation Board of Directors – this Board will have ultimate responsibility for defining, building and operating the school. 

• Interested families/students who want to learn more or enroll. 

• People interested in being faculty (instructional) or staff (administrative, food preparation, janitorial, marketing/community engagement, etc.) 

• Benefactors and Fund-Raising volunteers. 

• Volunteers in future school and community events. 

Q: Who will be staffing this new school? Will current staff transition to the new school? 

A: The Board of the Foundation, with input from the parish priests, will make all final decisions regarding faculty and staff. We anticipate interest from some current faculty/staff from St. Elizabeth Seton and we welcome those opportunities to discuss if this would be a good fit for them. 

Q: How can I financially help to ensure the success of the School? 

A: The Incorporators of the Foundation will pursue recognition as a 501(c) (3) charity under federal tax law. Until then, tax deductible donations may be made to your local Parish earmarked as “Donation to Catholic Education”, 100% of which will be directed to the School. Non deductible donations may be made directly to the School.