In the Bronx, a Battle Over the Future of Jennifer Lopez’s Alma Mater

When Preston High School in the Bronx announced in February that it was closing, it seemed to many that it was just another in a long list of urban Catholic schools that lacked the money and enrollment to survive. Not even this girls’ school with a famous alumna (Jennifer Lopez, class of 1987) seemed immune to a trend that has shuttered scores of parochial schools in the last few decades.

But to Preston alumnae, current students and their families and some staff, something seemed off. Preston was not like those other schools. It was financially sound, and enrollment was close to 100 percent of the target number of roughly 370 students. What’s more, it has a powerful and organized group of former students that has refused to accept the explanation for the closure given by the Sisters of the Divine Compassion, the Roman Catholic religious order that owns the school. Now Letitia James, the New York attorney general, has been drawn into the fray.

Ms. James presided over a boisterous public hearing on Tuesday to investigate the murky circumstances around the decision to close Preston at the end of this school year. A crowd of about 500 people packed the large auditorium at Lehman, another Bronx high school, delivering hours of testimony along with loud cheers and numerous standing ovations.

“This is a call to action for other schools and other folks who find themselves in similar positions to get organized and start preparing,” Jackeline Stewart-Hawkins, Preston class of 2002, said in an interview.

Ms. Stewart-Hawkins is part of a wide-ranging effort by graduates, staff, families of students and elected officials to keep the school open.