Local News

Aug. 17, 2006

Diocese approves two new schools for ’06-‘07

State has yet to say ‘amen’

By Ambria Hammel
The Catholic Sun

Two new schools are set to open this month in response to an increased demand for Catholic education. Yet neither will become fully operational until the Arizona Department of Health Services gives the schools the go-ahead.

St. Catherine of Siena in Phoenix plans to expand its traditional K-8 instruction to preschoolers. Meanwhile, parents hoping for a Catholic school north of the Valley can now send their kids to St. Joseph Montessori in Cottonwood, a new school serving preschool through sixth grade.

“We’re set up and ready,” said Catherine Lucero, principal at St. Catherine.

St. Joseph’s, however, is still waiting for the three-room building under renovation since July 1 to be finished. Preschoolers must wait until the school is ready for class to start.

The rest of the student body will start school Aug. 21 — on time — to ensure they have the state required 180 days of school. Classes will temporarily be held at the Immaculate Conception chapel in Cottonwood. Preschools do not have a minimum requirement of days.

Rob Paxton, St. Joseph’s principal and one of its three teachers, said the school’s enrollment stands at 60. That’s a jump from 23 last year when the facility served grades K-4 as a Montessori school, then not affiliated with the diocese.

This year, the institution is branded as a tri-parish Catholic elementary school with students coming from Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, St. Frances Cabrini in Camp Verde and St. John Vianney in Sedona.

“Every time I talk about the school, people say, ‘That’s so great. We’ve needed a Catholic school up here for so long,’” Paxton said. He estimated 20 sets of parents donated their time to help transform the ranch house and farm — donated by the Montini family of Immaculate Conception — into a school.

Lucero said Fr. David Sanfilippo, St. Catherine’s pastor, asked her to start a preschool for the community when she was hired last year. A grant from The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust propelled the effort.

The undisclosed amount funded safety and visual improvements to a section of the teen center that was transformed into a classroom. Several teens from St. Mary’s High School helped prepare the room, which is now fully decorated to appeal to young learners.

Lucero estimated half of the 12 boys and 12 girls the school will serve after Labor Day already have siblings at St. Catherine’s. Ten 4-year-olds remain on the waiting list.

Enrollment at St. Catherine’s has increased by 25 students in each of the last two years.

“We have waiting lists in many of the classrooms and that has not happened in a long time,” said Lucero, who has been with the diocese for 27 years. “I think people are looking for quality education… Hopefully, they’re looking for a Catholic education.”

According to the National Catholic Educational Association, 665 schools in 15 western states — including Arizona —had waiting lists last year. That represents 46 percent of the schools in the region. Nationally, nearly 32 percent of schools had waiting lists.

Complete enrollment figures for the ’06-’07 school year won’t be available until October. Statistics from the previous two years show a two percent increase in the student population across the Phoenix Diocese with the preschool, elementary and high school levels gaining at least 75 students each.

Nationally, the NCEA said enrollment figures show a slight decline in the number of Catholic schools and students. At the same time, the nation continued to hit its average last year opening 38 new schools including the preschools at St. John Bosco in Phoenix and St. Louis the King in Glendale.

MaryBeth Mueller, superintendent of Catholic schools, said the diocese has room to continue its growth. Schools are scheduled to be built at St. Gabriel the Archangel in Cave Creek, St. Mary Magdalene in Higley, St. Thomas More in Glendale and St. Clare of Assisi in Surprise.

“These are the areas where we’re growing,” Mueller said of the Valley. “But these are also the areas where we’re building.”

Ambria Hammel/CATHOLIC SUN
St. Mary’s High School students Patricia Gortarez, left, and Erika Luna check registration paperwork during the first day of school at St. Catherine Elementary. (Top) Kindergartners Sienna Medina, left, and Nevaeh Lopez patiently wait in line while their teacher, Melissa Ballentine rounds up the rest of the class after a snack break.