A New Iberia elementary school that’s been in the community for more than 40 years is closing its doors for good.

School officials announced that Epiphany Day School, located off Jefferson Street in downtown New Iberia, will be ending its 42-year run.

Rector of the Church of the Epiphany Annie Etheredge said in a prepared statement that the decision was made following a lack of families who could afford the tuition required to provide the level of service to which the school was committed.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the closing of our beloved Epiphany Day School,” Etheredge said. “Our team of dedicated educational professionals and staff have found such joy in providing 42 years of academic excellence in Iberia Parish and in watching our little Eagles soar to new and greater heights.”

As a smaller school that catered largely to the families of young professionals in New Iberia, Etheredge said the pool of new students had gotten so small as to be unsustainable.

Epiphany Day School grew out of Epiphany Kindergarten, which started in 1966. The school was incorporated in 1982 as a non-parochial school associated with the Church of the Epiphany.

The core of the school grew out of the tradition of Episcopal schools in Acadiana, namely Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette and Episcopal School of Acadiana.

Former headmistress Cheryl Boutte, PH.D., was a pivotal figure at Epiphany and a former teacher at Ascension who brought many of the traditions of the Lafayette school to New Iberia.

“There were parents who said there’s no reason we couldn’t have a quality school like that here,” Etheredge said.

School officials wrote a charter in 1982 and renamed the school Epiphany Day School. School prayers, prayer services and field trips from Ascension were incorporated into Epiphany, and Etheredge said the two schools and ESA were all considered sister schools at one point.

Eventually, ESA built its lower school and Ascension built their high school which left each more autonomous.

The last days of Epiphany have been bittersweet, and, for many, unexpected. Because so few Catholic schools end up closing, Etheredge said an expectation that the diocese could save the school may have been expected but proved ultimately impossible.

“We did everything we could, there was just no way,” she said.

The days when Epiphany was the only non-Catholic private school option for parents has also changed. As more options have become available to parents in the community, the small elementary school off Main Street has seen fewer enrollments.

Etheredge said the Church of the Epiphany still has a desire to be part of the community, and missions like Solomon House still do important work in New Iberia.

The future of the buildings that formerly housed Epiphany are still being deliberated, and a special Eucharist honoring staff and students is slated for June 9 at 10:30 a.m.

“We’re hoping the Spirit moves within this community in such a way that we can provide something meaningful to the community,” Etheredge said. “It’s important for us to have outreach.”