Dear Parishioners, Blessed Trinity School Families, Alumni, Staff, and Benefactors,
After much prayer, consultation, and careful consideration, we write to share a decision that is both painful and hopeful: Blessed Trinity School (BTS) will merge into St. John’s School in Waunakee beginning next school year. We know that practical questions will follow, and we promise to walk through every one of them in the days ahead.
This decision was not made lightly or in isolation. Bishop Hying and Michael Lancaster, the Superintendent of Catholic Schools, were consulted throughout this process and are in agreement with this decision. Additionally, after seeking advisement from the parish trustees, the pastoral council, and the finance council, this decision has been made with the guidance of those entrusted to help shepherd our parish and its mission.
In effect, this means the closure of BTS as a freestanding apostolate. The building that has shaped so many lives, the classrooms where faith and knowledge have intertwined for generations, the school that has meant so much to so many — these will change. We do not minimize that loss, and we will not pretend it is anything other than what it is. Grief is appropriate — and it’s shared by everyone who has to face this painful truth.
After an honest assessment of enrollment trends, demographic decline, and longstanding systemic challenges, no path forward was identified that could address both next year’s immediate needs and long-term sustainability. We are grateful to everyone who submitted proposals, asked questions, and fought for this school. But the realities we face are serious and sustained — and they are not unique to us. Small rural Catholic schools across our diocese and throughout the country are facing this same hard reality. In the end, this was not so much a decision as it was an acknowledgment of what the facts required of us.
And yet let us be clear about what this is not. This is not a closure that leaves our mission behind. What we built at BTS does not end here. It comes with us to St. John’s School. This decision, at its heart, is about our children — about ensuring they have the stability, the community, and the faith-filled education they deserve. The identity of BTS has never been a building or a name — it has been the people, the faith, and the mission. Those endure.
I cannot let this letter end without saying this is personal for us too. Alicia and I have loved this school deeply — and that love is exactly why this hurts. We have given our all to BTS because we believe in it — in these students, in these families, and in what this place means. Having to close this chapter is heartbreaking in ways that words cannot express.
This is not the ending any of us wanted. But it is not the end of what we love.
As we mark the end of this chapter together, we invite you to join us in gratitude for all that Blessed Trinity School has been and all the lives it has touched. Bishop Hying will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving on Friday, May 29th at 8:00 AM. All are welcome to attend.
Attached to this email is a personal letter from Alicia Zepp, Principal of BTS — please take a moment to read her words, as they come from the heart of someone who has poured herself into our school and our children every single day for the last six years.
United in what endures,
Fr. Joseph Baker
Pastor
After much prayer, consultation, and careful consideration, we write to share a decision that is both painful and hopeful: Blessed Trinity School (BTS) will merge into St. John’s School in Waunakee beginning next school year. We know that practical questions will follow, and we promise to walk through every one of them in the days ahead.
This decision was not made lightly or in isolation. Bishop Hying and Michael Lancaster, the Superintendent of Catholic Schools, were consulted throughout this process and are in agreement with this decision. Additionally, after seeking advisement from the parish trustees, the pastoral council, and the finance council, this decision has been made with the guidance of those entrusted to help shepherd our parish and its mission.
In effect, this means the closure of BTS as a freestanding apostolate. The building that has shaped so many lives, the classrooms where faith and knowledge have intertwined for generations, the school that has meant so much to so many — these will change. We do not minimize that loss, and we will not pretend it is anything other than what it is. Grief is appropriate — and it’s shared by everyone who has to face this painful truth.
After an honest assessment of enrollment trends, demographic decline, and longstanding systemic challenges, no path forward was identified that could address both next year’s immediate needs and long-term sustainability. We are grateful to everyone who submitted proposals, asked questions, and fought for this school. But the realities we face are serious and sustained — and they are not unique to us. Small rural Catholic schools across our diocese and throughout the country are facing this same hard reality. In the end, this was not so much a decision as it was an acknowledgment of what the facts required of us.
And yet let us be clear about what this is not. This is not a closure that leaves our mission behind. What we built at BTS does not end here. It comes with us to St. John’s School. This decision, at its heart, is about our children — about ensuring they have the stability, the community, and the faith-filled education they deserve. The identity of BTS has never been a building or a name — it has been the people, the faith, and the mission. Those endure.
I cannot let this letter end without saying this is personal for us too. Alicia and I have loved this school deeply — and that love is exactly why this hurts. We have given our all to BTS because we believe in it — in these students, in these families, and in what this place means. Having to close this chapter is heartbreaking in ways that words cannot express.
This is not the ending any of us wanted. But it is not the end of what we love.
As we mark the end of this chapter together, we invite you to join us in gratitude for all that Blessed Trinity School has been and all the lives it has touched. Bishop Hying will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving on Friday, May 29th at 8:00 AM. All are welcome to attend.
Attached to this email is a personal letter from Alicia Zepp, Principal of BTS — please take a moment to read her words, as they come from the heart of someone who has poured herself into our school and our children every single day for the last six years.
United in what endures,
Fr. Joseph Baker
Pastor
