Baltimore’s oldest Catholic school for girls, Institute of Notre Dame, announces closing

Tribune Content Agency

BALTIMORE — Maryland’s oldest Catholic college preparatory school for girls, an institution that remained in the city of Baltimore from the time it was founded, announced Tuesday it is closing its doors.

The Institute of Notre Dame, whose graduates have included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, will close June 30 in the midst of a pandemic that prevents anyone spending time inside the building during the school’s last days.

“We had hoped to have a different outcome and have been trying valiantly the last several years to build a sustainable future,” leaders wrote in an email to the IND community Tuesday. They cited declining enrollment, financial difficulties and a need to raise millions of dollars with at least $5 million in building repairs as some of the reasons for the closure.

“It has recently become clear that there is no way forward — in spite of the tireless efforts of the Sisters, the Board of Trustees and the school’s leadership team,” said Charmaine Krohe, the leader of the School Sisters of Notre Dame of Atlantic-Midwest Province, and Patricia Murphy, the chair of the board of trustees.

IND’s first class graduated in July 1864, as cannon fire from the Civil War could be heard in the distance, according to the school’s history.

In the 1970s, as other preparatory schools moved out to the suburbs, IND stayed at its East Baltimore campus. The school has a recent history of educating a diverse group of girls and sending them all to college.

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