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First Baptist Elementary shutting down

First Baptist Church of Marble Falls

First Baptist Church of Marble Falls decided to close its elementary school due to declining enrollment numbers, according to media release from the school board. The school will close at the end of the 2022-23 school year. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey

First Baptist Elementary School in Marble Falls will close its doors at the end of the 2022-23 school year, according to a Friday, March 17, media release from the school. Officials cite insufficient enrollment numbers in recent years as the cause. The school is located at First Baptist Church, 901 La Ventana Drive.

The closure does not affect the church’s Child Development Center, which serves children up to prekindergarten.

“We carefully examined several plans to try and sustain our school into the future, but we were simply not able to find a way forward,” reads the media release. 

The school currently has 27 students enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grade. It opened in 2003 and is fully accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Accreditation Commission of the Texas Association of Baptist Schools

The decision to close came March 7 after a meeting of the First Baptist School Board. Parents were notified by email on March 9, and the school held a question-and-answer session on the matter the next day.

“There are many reasons why this hurts, most importantly because we will lose the opportunity to educate and disciple our elementary age children on a weekly basis,” the statement continues. “It is also hard because we have such a dedicated staff that have loved, cared, and educated our children.”

First Baptist Elementary School offered classes in grades 6-8 in the 2021-22 academic year and even had plans to implement high school classes before the sudden resignation of headmaster Dr. Cindy Sadler in May 2022. Middle school classes were cut after her resignation and plans for high school classes were put on an indefinite hold.

Current Principal Wendy Collins was brought on in the summer of 2022 and will continue to run the school until it closes in May.

dakota@thepicayune.com