For seventy-five years, the Transfiguration Parish School in Tarrytown was a staple of the local Catholic community. Sadly, at the end of the 2023-2024 school year, it was forced to shut its doors due to declining enrollment. However, that does not mean it is gone for good. They are now back for the 2024-2025 school year, with a few key changes.
After it was founded in 1949 to teach grades PreK-3 through 8th, the school was integrated as a regional school under the Auspices of the Archdiocese of New York in 2014. In 2024 the Archdiocese announced the school would close its doors. But that wasn’t the end of the story for the Transfiguration Parish’s Father Francis Amodio and the parish community. After a community outcry, they knew the 2023-2024 school year was not going to be their last. It reopened as an independent private preschool later that year after getting approval and licensing from the State Department. Serving ages three and four year olds, the preschool combines a typical early childhood education seamlessly with the Catholic teachings of the Order of Carmelites. Employees include Religious Education Coordinator Aura Zelaya, who had thirty years of teaching experience at White Plains Public School District before feeling as though “God was calling [her] to something else.” She was a driving force in the revival of the school. Other staff members are a mix of certified teachers like Zelaya, student teachers, and volunteers.
The school operates between the hours of 7:45 in the morning and 2:15 in the afternoon, with the before care starting at 7:00 and the after care ending at 6:00. Upon the school day beginning, kids start with tabletop toys such as puzzles before moving onto prayer in the church and a morning meeting. Children then rotate through a series of different teachers, each providing a different angle to pre-elementary education. The school also welcomes outside organizations to come into the classes, including the Greenburgh Nature Center. Other enrichment programs include soccer, cooking, and music.
The Transfiguration Parish and school are completely intertwined. Children attend church and take religion classes every day. According to Father Amodio, even the parishioners who don’t have preschool-aged children were overjoyed about the reopening, saying, “…they just see it as a vital, vital part of parish life.” Events such as the Harvest Festival and Saint Nicholas Festival are constantly intertwining the young students and parishioners.
The preschool is small, and it leaves a lot of room for parental input. After all, it only exists due to that very input. “It’s so crucial and important to establish a partnership,” says Zelaya about the school’s relationship with its parents, “and I think for us…it was very natural.” In fact, the children’s soccer class was born out of parental request.
They have no boundaries as to where their students come from, and this year’s class includes kids from Irvington, Sleepy Hollow, Ossining, and more. If transportation is a concern, parents should check with their local school district to see if they provide bussing. For any parents interested in a quality Catholic preschool education for their young children, enrollment begins in February on the school’s website. They can access more information by calling or visiting the school and parish.
This school year spells out hope and resilience for the community mere months after the school was shut down. The rebound is a testament to all the effort and love that was put into creating this Catholic education for the community’s youngest. If all goes well, there are even plans to expand into a camp during the summer months. “…[The children] are so happy,” says Zelaya, “We immediately establish a safe, happy environment for [them], and I think that’s something that we can all be proud of.”
