Updated at 6:18 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025
St. Elizabeth’s School in Denver is closing, the school announced the closure on Oct. 8.
The school will close when its year ends in June.
The announcement comes as the private school is engaged in legal battles with at least three families.
The school sent at least two cease and desist letters to families who were raising concerns about alleged unchecked bullying. At least one family sued the school.
However, Adriana Murphy, the head of the school said in a statement via email that the school's closure wasn’t related to the lawsuits.
“After assessing every possible path forward, the Board of Trustees has made the very difficult decision to close St. Elizabeth’s School at the end of this academic year,” Murphy wrote. “This was a financial decision and not a reflection on our excellent programs or our extraordinary faculty, staff, and leadership team, nor is it related to any lawsuit.”
In an announcement posted to its website, St. Elizabeth’s said it can’t hit its fundraising and growth goals. The school would need to raise $2.5 million a year, build a $25 million endowment and grow consistently to stay open, it said.
“Without both of these components, the school cannot maintain operations on a sustainable basis,” the statement read.
St. Elizabeth’s is a private Episcopal school that has been in Denver for 18 years. It previously was on Gaylord Street and now operates from the former Johnson & Wales Campus in Park Hill. The school’s enrollment is about 140, according to U.S. News & World Report.
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Editor's note: Additional information about the St. Elizabeth's School lawsuits has been added.
