Pittsburgh's Brightwood Career Institute closes abruptly

A downtown trade school abruptly closed its doors today after first announcing it would stay open through September 2019.

Brightwood Career Institute, at 933 Penn Ave. announced earlier this fall that it would stop taking enrollment but that it planned to see its senior class to graduation.

The school cited insufficient enrollment and demand for trade skills.

Parent Company, The Education Corporation of America, is deeply in debt and unable to make payments. It owes $66 million and is facing evictions at several of its 26 campuses, WPXI reported.

In a statement , CEO Stuart Reed said, “It is with extreme regret that the recent series of circumstances have forced us to discontinue the operations of our school.”

Studies are offered in health and information technology courses, as well as other fields at campuses in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia.

According to its website, there were 512 students enrolled at the Pittsburgh campus in 2015-16. There are currently 200, WPXI reported.

Other schools are stepping up to help students, including state-owned community colleges.

Elizabeth A. Bolden, president and CEO for the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, said “all Pennsylvania community colleges are ready to assist students whose education is unfortunately disrupted by such closures.”

Tawnya Panizzi is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tawnya at 412-782-2121, ext. 2, tpanizzi@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tawnyatrib.