Lawrence Woodmere Academy to close for 2025-26 school year

The Lawrence Woodmere Academy, a private college preparatory school with a rich history in the Five Towns area, will not open for the upcoming school year, officials confirmed Friday.

In a statement, the academy's board of directors said the decision was made after "a period of extensive efforts to stabilize operations, including the pursuit of new partnerships and long-term strategic planning."

The closure was characterized as a "pause" versus a permanent shutdown.

"During this pause, the Board will focus on exploring sustainable paths forward for LWA," the board said in the statement. "This includes a careful review of how the school can continue to serve the Five Towns community in today’s changing educational landscape. We welcome ideas, resources and collaboration from those who share our belief in the future of LWA."

The Lawrence Woodmere Academy, located in Woodmere, was formed after the Lawrence Country Day School and Woodmere Academy merged in 1990, according to the school's website. Both schools had long histories in the community prior to the merge. 

The academy educates students from preschool through 12th grade. Annual tuition for the 2024-25 school year ranged from $17,500 for early childhood programs to $30,500 for students in grades 11 and 12.

The impact was immediately felt by student-athlete Sylvanus Tabe, who was planning to enter his senior year at the school.

Tabe, who is from Chad, Africa, played volleyball and basketball for the academy. He said he found out about the closure Thursday and does not know where he will finish his high school career.

"I came here for basketball and school. I met people I never knew before, and when I first got here I thought it would be something different," Tabe said in an interview Friday. "But when I first met people they were nice. My coach, my teacher, everybody helped me. I couldn’t speak English at all, so they helped me and now I speak correctly.”

When he heard the news, he said, "I was really sad. Lawrence Woodmere is like my house. Me specifically, I come from Africa so this was my first school in America. Everyone was nice and really helped me."

Newsday's Michael Sicoli contributed to this story.