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BY KATHI STEARNS
Staff Writer
ATLANTA--Ground has been broken for the three new Catholic elementary
schools that are scheduled to open in the fall of 1999.
Archbishop John F. Donoghue broke ground June 3 for Our Lady of Victory
School in Tyrone, Fayette County, and on July 17 for Holy Redeemer School in
northeast Fulton County and Queen of Angels School in Roswell.
“It is a happy occasion to break ground and bless the soil for these
new schools,” Archbishop Donoghue said. “It is wonderful to know that
within a year a school will rise on this sacred spot. I am grateful to the
people who through the “Building the Church of Tomorrow” campaign
have made this dream a reality through their generosity. This is truly a day of
rejoicing for everyone in the archdiocese.”
In addition, the archdiocese has hired two of the three principals who will
lead these new elementary schools. Nanci Pearson, who
served as the first lay principal of St. Anthony’s School, Atlanta, and
taught at the Marist School for eight years, will be the principal of Our Lady
of Victory School in Tyrone with a projected student body of 250.
Mary Reiling of Cleveland, Ohio, with over 20
years’ experience in education, including serving as principal of St.
Leo’s School in Fairfax, Va., and the Gesu School in Cleveland, has been
named principal of Holy Redeemer School in northeast Fulton County with a
projected student body of 500.
Pearson and Reiling began work July 1 in offices at the archdiocesan
Catholic Center. The Department of Catholic Education is continuing the search
for the third principal who will open Queen of Angels School, which is also
planned for a student body of 500.
“As we approach the millennium, I am very pleased to welcome our new
principals as the leaders of the faith community in our new elementary
schools,” said Sandra Smith, Ph.D., superintendent of schools. “They
will be the spiritual and educational leaders encouraging academic excellence
in a school climate that is Catholic-Christian. They bring their unique
experiences and expertise to further enhance the educational opportunities
provided by our existing schools in carrying out the teaching ministry of the
church of Atlanta.”
Architects Passantino & Bavier, Inc., of Smyrna have designed the
prototype for Our Lady of Victory School and Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart,
Stewart & Associates of Atlanta have developed the design for Holy Redeemer
and Queen of Angels Schools. These plans will be used for future archdiocesan
elementary schools of identical size.
According to George Barrie, CEO of Catholic Construction Services, Inc., the
design of the archdiocesan schools has been based upon the input of current
Catholic school principals and teachers, clergy and education design experts.
The schools will combine a 21st century educational environment with the
loving, warm environment of a safe and caring family home.
“The building design is state-of-the-art,” Barrie said. “It
has all the latest bells and whistles that an educational institution can
desire.”
“Houses” that contain three grades and a family center are the key
to the design concept of the prototypes. The majority of instruction will take
place in the individual classroom within each “house,” with the
family center providing an environment for group interaction and the
development of a community identity.
“We elected to use the ‘houses’ concept in our new school
construction because this floor plan provides the maximum utilization of
available space,” said Bertha Martin, secretary for education. “What
was once the hallway and used exclusively for circulation has now been captured
and will be used in various ways. It facilitates team teaching, provides a
common area in the proximity of the regular classrooms where two or more
classes can work on a project together, view movies and see puppet shows
together. After hours these ‘houses’ become gathering areas for adult
education, parish committee meetings, etc. Each house is at least 1,600 square
feet.”
All new archdiocesan elementary schools will feature a comprehensive
curriculum which will include religion, Spanish, computer technology, music,
art and physical education. There will be a resource classroom with a full-time
resource teacher; a state-of-the-art, fully-computerized library/media center;
oversized classrooms networked to the library; a middle school science
laboratory; a full-time guidance counselor; a full-service cafeteria featuring
a hot lunch program; a school clinic; before and after school programs; a
regulation-size gymnasium for basketball and soccer and softball fields. School
chaplains will celebrate weekly Mass at each school.
The three elementary schools have already received zoning permits and
construction is expected to begin as soon as building permits are obtained,
which archdiocesan officials hope will be in early August.
The three elementary schools, which will serve students in kindergarten
through eighth grade, and two future Catholic high schools projected for the
year 2000 are being built through the “Building the Church of
Tomorrow” Capital Campaign held in the archdiocese in 1997.
The sites for the new elementary and high schools are:
- -Our Lady of Victory Elementary School will be located in Tyrone,
Fayette County, on Kirkley Road near the intersection of Senoia Road. The
school will serve 250 students and open in the fall of 1999.
- -Holy Redeemer Elementary School will be located in northeast Fulton
County on Old Alabama Road near Haynes Bridge Road. The school will serve 500
students and is scheduled to open in the fall of 1999. Construction has begun
on this site.
- -Queen of Angels Elementary School will be located in west Roswell
at the intersection of Highway 92 and Woodstock Road. The school will serve 500
students and is scheduled to open in the fall of 1999. A building permit is
pending.
- -Our Lady of Mercy High School will be located in Fayette County at
the intersection of Highway 138 and Holyfield Highway. The high school will
serve 400 students and is scheduled to open in the fall of 2000. A schematic
design is being developed by Hussey, Gay, Bell & Deyounge of Savannah.
Zoning permits will be pursued in the fall of 1998. Construction should begin
in early 1999.
- -Blessed Trinity High School will be located at the same west
Roswell site as Queen of Angels Elementary School. The high school will serve
1,000 students and is scheduled to open in the fall of 2000. A schematic design
is being developed by Hussey, Gay, Bell & Deyounge of Savannah. Zoning
permits will be pursued in the fall of 1998. Construction should begin in early
1999. This will also be the site of St. Peter Chanel, a mission of the Church
of St. Ann, Marietta.
An additional elementary school site has yet to be determined. Originally
the archdiocese had hoped to build this school at a site on Post Oak Tritt Road
in Cobb County. However, after land studies it was determined that this parcel
is not suitable for construction of a school. The archdiocese is currently in
the process of selling the land to the Cobb County parks and recreation
authority.
Archdiocesan officials are pursuing a new parcel of land in Cobb County for
a grade school which is intended to serve parishioners at St. Ann, Marietta,
Holy Family, Marietta, Transfiguration, Marietta, St. Thomas the Apostle,
Smyrna, and St. Catherine of Siena, Kennesaw. The school is projected to open
in the fall of 2000. Archdiocesan officials have not finalized an enrollment
figure for this proposed school.
The archbishop appointed a team with representation from the Development
Office, the Finance Office and the Department of Catholic Education who are
charged with facilitating enrollment at the three new elementary schools.
School principals, with the guidance of this committee, will be responsible
for the development of enrollment campaigns at each feeder parish.
The admission process for the three new schools will begin in October 1998.
A tuition assistance program, which will be partially funded by the
“Building the Church of Tomorrow” Capital Campaign is available to
assist active Catholic families with the cost of education. Funds will be
awarded on the basis of need and the availability of monies for this purpose.
The archdiocesan Department of Catholic Education is maintaining a contact
list of interested families for each school. For information or to be added to
this list, call (404) 888-7833.
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