Parents of children who attend the Clayton Academy and Clayton Child Center in Richmond Heights and the organization's infant-toddler center in Clayton were surprised to learn early this week that the centers will close in May. There was no explanation given for the closings in a letter e-mailed to parents Monday.

According to a news release emailed to the Post-Dispatch this afternoon, the reasons for closure "include a steady declining enrollment and the growing number of early childhood education options now available, both privately and publicly, in the St. Louis area." The release attributes the explanation to the centers' founder and director, Barbara E. Geno.

Geno has not returned a call seeking comment.

Parents were informed Friday of an urgent informational meeting on Sunday and then emailed a letter with the abrupt announcement Monday. The letter, from Geno, tells parents she is sad to inform them of the centers' closings at the end of May but offers no details. It invites parents to talk to Geno via conference calls Wednesday and Thursday.

Despite the pending closings, the letter asks for continued support and attendance at a fundraiser for the centers, an auction Feb. 24. "The auction is critical to our plan to continue services through the end of May," Geno's letter reads. "Please come and honor all the teachers and staff who have done so much for your children."

The Clayton Child Center, a preschool, opened in 1980 and the Clayton Academy, a school for children in kindergarten through eighth grade, opened in 1991. The infant-toddler center is at 1 Oak Knoll Park in Clayton, and the Clayton Child Center and Clayton Academy are at 1414 Bellevue Avenue in Richmond Heights. The latter two moved to the Richmond Heights site in 2009 after signing a 30-year lease with the St. Louis Archdiocese. The child center and academy formerly were at 7501 Maryland Avenue in a building owned by the Clayton School District. The district had been leasing the building to the center but decided to sell it.

The news release says the Clayton Child Center is a nonprofit organization founded in 1980 by a group of business people in Clayton. The centers have served more than 2,500 families, the release says.