Vigil Held for Assumption School in Peekskill

Parents at the Our Lady of the Assumption School in Peekskill are hoping for a miracle.

“I don’t know, but for some reason, I think we’ll stay open,” Ramon Fernandez, a parent at the school, said Friday night. “I’m praying that it will stay open. We know it's a tough economy, but we're hoping for a miracle. We want to keep the old traditions going.”

A group of students, parents and staff members gathered in front the school Friday for a vigil in hopes of keeping the school open. 

Peekskill school officials have stated that they believe the school, which has 200 students, is likely closing. The school is one of 26 schools out of 129 Catholic elementary schools in the Archdiocese of New York that were announced in November as being on a list of schools at risk of closing June 2013.

The Archdiocese is expected to make its decision at the end of the month.

“We’re still praying for Assumption School,” Father Michael Higgins, of the Church of the Assumption, said in an email. “I’m still of the school that says no news is good news.”

Beatriz Herrera, a parent at the school district, said the news has weighed on the minds of everybody at the school, including the children.

“Some of the children have offered to give their own money,” Herrera said. “Some have said that they’d give their piggy banks. They've been wonderful. They ask what they can because we need help to keep the school going.”

Joey Mitchell, a 7-year-old student, remains hopeful the school will stay open.

“I like school and all the stuff that I study and all the stuff that I learn,” Mitchell said. "I don't want the school to close."