Notre Dame High School, the all-girls Catholic school that has served families across Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties for more than half a century, will close at the end of the current school year due to sustained enrollment declines, the Diocese of Monterey announced Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026.
In a letter to the school community, Bishop Ramón Bejarano said diocesan and school leaders spent the past two years trying to stabilize enrollment, including drawing about $1.5 million from school reserves to keep the campus operating while new programs were introduced.
Those efforts included dual-enrollment opportunities, expanded electives and internships, international outreach, strengthened retreat programs, added athletics and drama productions, and enhanced development initiatives.
Enrollment rose slightly from 53 students last school year to 60 this year, but only six completed applications had been received for the coming year, Bejarano said. “We undertook these efforts with sincere hope — hope that interest would grow, and that the school’s long-term stability could be restored,” he wrote. “Despite these sustained efforts, the enrollment necessary to ensure a sustainable future has not materialized. In fidelity to our mission and with care for the broader needs of our diocesan community, we must now take this difficult step.”
Bejarano said the diocese’s immediate priority is supporting students, families, faculty and staff through the transition. The diocese is working with nearby Catholic high schools to facilitate student transfers and explore opportunities for teachers and staff.
It will also evaluate how the Notre Dame campus can continue to serve Catholic education in the months ahead. The future use of the site at 455 Palma Drive remains undecided.
Founded in 1951 as the girls’ division of Palma High School under the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Notre Dame became an independent campus during the 1964–65 school year. Over the decades, it educated generations of young women, a legacy alumni say shaped their lives.
“From the very start, a powerful sisterhood took root,” alumna Connie Rains wrote on social media, recalling being part of the first freshman class to enter the new campus in 1964. “For four years, we grew not only in knowledge, but in maturity, faith, compassion, and hope for the bright futures ahead of us.”
Palma School, located down the street, officially welcomed female students for the first time in more than 60 years at the start of the 2024–25 school year, placing it in direct competition with Notre Dame.
Palma is a private, college-preparatory Catholic school for grades 6–12, funded primarily through tuition, donations and the Palma School Foundation, and operated by the Christian Brothers Institute of California.
Additional information about the closure and transition plans will be shared by the diocese as it becomes available.
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