History of the School
The story of Immaculate Conception Catholic School began in 1881 when the first school opened. This was only ten years after the establishment of the mission parish of Immaculate Conception and one year after the appointment of its first permanent pastor, Fr. William Schmidt. For the first nine years, Mr. Anton Meyer was the sole teacher and also the parish organist.
In 1890 when the school became too large for one teacher, the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood from O’Fallon, Missouri took over. The school numbered 71 students.
When the present stone church was completed, the old L shaped church was moved from its location on the corner of Feise and Stump Roads to the present parish site. This move allowed for the old church to be used for added classroom space. Thus, the school and church were about 1.5 miles apart.
In 1923, under the supervision of Fr. Woeltermann, a new brick school was erected, and the school moved to be next to the church. The building lacked water or toilet facilities. It was not until 1946 that these luxuries were added to the school, along with a furnace to replace the wood burner. This structure continues today to be part of our existing school building.
In 1949, the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood found it necessary to leave the parochial school. For the next six years it would be strictly a public school, as the post-war years continued and the parish could not support the school.
In 1956, during the brief pastorate of Reverend Clarence White, a new convent was completed. Archbishop Joseph Cardinal Ritter came to Dardenne to bless the new convent and shortly thereafter the School Sisters of Notre Dame took up residence. The parish, happily, had a parochial school once more.
In June of 1957, children from the neighboring parish of Immaculate Heart of Mary, New Melle, were invited to attend school at Immaculate Conception Catholic School. It was during this time that the influx of people from St. Louis City and St. Louis County began.
In 1959, with the apparent growth of the parish, there was a keen need for a larger school. Under the guidance of Fr. Fuchs, the new endeavor of adding on to the north end of the existing school building began and was completed in 1961. Today the complete structure bears the name the “Old Testament Building”.
In 1980, a kindergarten was begun, housed at first in the basement of the convent and later moved to the school building.
Through the 80’s the rapid growth of the parish continued, and with it, the need for more space. In 1990 construction on a new multi-purpose building to the north of the present school and bus barn was begun. In the spring of 1991 the whole parish welcomed the space provided by six new classrooms, a multi-purpose room and kitchen. That building was called the MPR building, or the Upper grade building.
In the fall of 1999, the school welcomed Janet Eaton as the new principal, taking over for Sr. Barbara Rupp, SSND who had successfully led the school for nine years. The enrollment for 1999 was 250 students with a long waiting list for the Kindergarten class, whose enrollment was 30 children. The students were greeted with a brand new wooden playground, directly west of the Multi-Purpose Building, as they began the school year.
It was evident at that time that with the growth in population in the O’Fallon area and the growth of the parish membership, the school had to begin the process of planning for expansion. Thus a committee was formed to begin what would become a four year process of design, development and build of a new 45,000 square footage school building that became known as the Reaching Higher Project and Capital Campaign.
By the year 2000, the Millennium year, the parish had approximately 2,600 families. The growth had been and continued to be phenomenal. From 1999 to 2000, over 500 families registered in the parish. The Parish School of Religion had over 950 students, offering classes at six different sessions in a week’s time, to serve the great number enrolled.
The long awaited and desperately needed, new church was dedicated in 2001. It provided seats for 1,200. The small church on the corner took the name “the chapel”.
A second classroom of Kindergarten was opened in the fall of 2000! Having two classrooms of a particular grade was a first in school history! All other grades continued as single classroom grades. The enrollment for this school year was 288. During the spring of the year, the campus added a modular trailer which would then host classrooms for the following year.
As the waiting lists continued to grow, the a quantum leap was taken to respond to the growth, not only did the school open two levels of K and 1st grade, we also expanded to open a combination classroom of 2nd and 3rd graders for the 2001-02 school year. The enrollment that year jumped to 350 students. The Reaching Higher Capital Campaign was in full motion. The design process continued as we looked forward to the building of a new school complex.
During the summer of 2002, we broke ground to begin the new school building. Freise Construction Company had won the bid for the school with a proposed cost of five million dollars. Construction was set to be in the center of the school campus as we existed with students in 5 different buildings, including three modular units of which had no restrooms. The year was one of watching the construction process day by day. Our parents quickly gained a reputation from the workers as each day we would offer them hospitality treats, homemade, from various parents. For the 2002-03 school year, we were a double school for grades K-4 and single grades remained at 5-8. The enrollment was 398 with a staff of 36 employees. Our theme for the school year was We Believe, as we awaited our new school.
In April of 2003, we announced the largest jump in enrollment history for the upcoming school year. We would add a third classroom for Kindergarten and first grade, plus a second classroom for the 5th grade (this was a must as we had two fourth grades) and a second level of the 6th grade. This was incredibly aggressive, but given the length of the waiting lists and the construction progress, we were optimistic it was the right decision.
On August 19, 2003, we opened the door to 511 students; this was a 27 percent increase in our enrollment. This totaled 82 new families. The school’s first assistant principal, Debbie Pecher, was hired for this school year as well as several other auxiliary positions to the staff.
The building was not completed, though we moved into rooms with concrete floors while we waited for other floors to dry. By October we were still waiting for the flooring to dry, as we requested dehumidifiers and fans from our parents to help with the drying process. At the time it seemed like forever.
The building was completed, with the formal dedication on October 12, 2003! A grand day it was!
Following this, as the concrete dried, we moved in three different phases, three different weekends, with tremendous parent support, for occupancy in our new building. So fitting of so much, the theme of the year was “We are ONE”!
The enrollment for 2004-05 was 578 students with triple classes of K-2, double classes of 3-7, and a single class of 8th graders, cared for by 53 employees. This year’s graduation celebrated the end of the single classrooms of 8th graders as 30 students were promoted to high school.
In 2004, our School Board was recognized nationally with the NCEA Outstanding School Board Award. The board members traveled to Philadelphia in March of 2005 to accept the award from the National Catholic Education Association.
In 2005, the Mix of Six Capital campaign brought the school children a full-size gymnasium to enjoy. At this time, the planning also began for the final construction of the school, with the need of six additional classrooms and a much larger cafeteria.
This cafeteria/classroom campaign, Complete the Dream, started in January 2006. The enrollment for this school year was 642. The hallmark of this school year was the graduation of two 8th grade classes, the first in the school’s history.
The school year of 2006-07 brought an enrollment of 683 students. A wonderful and deserving highlight of this school year, announced in October of 2006, was that our principal, Janet Eaton, was recognized as the Distinguished Principal of the Year for the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
On December 17th, 2006 ground was broken to begin the construction of our new West Wing, 16,000 square feet. The construction continued all spring and through the summer. Ironically on Dec. 8th 2007, nearly a year to the day and our feast day, the move was made into the new wing. Also, ironically, on Dec. 17th of 2007, one year later from groundbreaking, the students ate lunch for the first time in the new cafeteria. Our enrollment was at 705 students for the 2007-08 school year.
With an enrollment of 747, the 2008-09 school year was underway, with only 3 openings in the entire school. The school employed a total of 72 faculty and staff, as we stood in ranks as the 3rd largest school in the Diocese, next to St. Joseph in Cottleville and Holy Infant in Ballwin. For the first time in ten years, all school expansion and construction was completed. However, in front of the school building, the new Parish Office Center was going up! Mrs. Theresa Ghormley, our sixth grade teacher, was recognized this year as one of nine teachers in the Diocese to receive the Archbishop Raymond L. Burke Teacher Recognition Award.
And that brings us to 2009-10. Daily we welcome 771 students to our school. We have only a few openings in the upper grades. All K-5 classrooms have an enrollment of 30 students. We are a triple school with the exception of only two eighth grades. Next year will bring us full circle as a triple school. Seventy-four employees daily minister to the students. We have a waiting list on most of the primary grades. Kindergarten enrollment is where we see the largest interest and the largest number of enrollments declined.
In 2009-10 school year, all of our our families were of the Catholic faith, 435 of the families were registered members of ICD and 4 were registered members of Immaculate Heart of Mary, New Melle (grandfathered enrollment). We had an eleven member School Board that assisted with policy making and a very active Home and School Organization that assisted with parent education and fund raising.
Now in 2010-11, we celebrate a hallmark year of triple classes in all grade levels, welcoming 800 students. We are near completing the School’s Plan for Improvement and will embark on the writing of a new plan. We welcome Monsignor Ted Wojcicki as our new pastor. We have 83 individuals on our faculty and staff who daily attend to the needs of our beloved students.
This history ends with the understanding, gratitude and prayer that we are truly living and experiencing the “Glory Days” of our parish school. We thank God daily for this.