Kolbe Academy, located in Bath, will close down at the end of the school term in June, according to Allentown Diocese spokesperson Matthew Kirby.

It was established in 2019 as a Diocesan school under the authority of the Allentown Diocese. Kirby described the high school as a “recovery high school.”

In AD Today, the Allentown Diocese newsletter, Dr. Philip J. Fromuth, superintendent of Catholic Education, said, “Opening Kolbe Academy was part of our Catholic mission to help families in need. I want to thank everyone who was a part of this courageous undertaking – students, parents, faculty, staff, the Kolbe Board of Directors, and the community at large.”

The official diocese newsletter describes the school as being for students recovering from addiction.

The high school will continue operations until the June 2023 graduation, when its two-student senior class is expected graduate. The current enrollment is four: two seniors and two juniors. The remaining students in the school will transfer to other high schools.

According to Kirby, there was not enough enrollment to sustain the school.

Kolbe Academy moved from its initial location on Bridle Path Road in Bethlehem to Washington Street in Bath and was housed in a building belonging to Sacred Heart Parish.

A zoning struggle over the Bath location was resolved with local authorities, but, according to Kirby in a Morning Call interview, the legal costs created unexpected financial stress on the school’s budget and created uncertainty among parents and potential donors.

Initial optimism about enrollment did not pan out. From a hoped-for enrollment of 90 to 100 students in ninth through 12th grade, according to a Morning Call story, at the beginning of 2020, the school had only seven students.

According to a WFMZ-TV 69 News story, 20 students have attended Kolbe Academy in the four years that it was open.

Kolbe Academy’s website shows the curriculum had a heavy emphasis on theology, with four credits being required to graduate. English required three credits, math, science and social studies required three credits each.