The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
A hopeful outlook
St. Peter/St. Francis School continues its mission of Catholic education, experiences rise in enrollment
TORRINGTON — Like many other Catholic schools in Connecticut, St. Peter/St. Francis School has faced a decline in enrollment. Schools and parishes across the state have closed or consolidated, a reflection of that decline.
But at St. Peter/St. Francis, leaders and staff members are hoping for a change. Principal Jo-Anne Gauger, a champion of the school who was also a pupil there, believes her school offers children an education as well as membership in a community.
Gauger on Tuesday said enrollment had increased from 84 to 93 students in the last few years, after a multi-age model of education was instituted. Students from multiple grades — for example, fifth and sixth — are now taught in a single class.
“It’s been a great experience,” Gauger said of the combined classes. “It’s been really well received by the teachers and by the parents.”
School officials hope to continue increased enrollment by informing parents and community members of the programming and offerings at the institution, Gauger said.
She said students perform well on Iowa Assessments administered by the school, a nationally recognized test that measures student growth and proficiency across all content areas. The school also offers a variety of extracurricular activities, including basketball, student council, a student newspaper and cheerleading. Scholarship assistance for parents concerned about the cost of sending their children to the school is also available.
The multi-age model has fostered leadership, encouraging older students to help younger ones, and allows students to learn at their own pace and level, she said. Teachers have students for two years and become familiar with their strengths and weaknesses.
Gauger, a Torrington native, has witnessed many changes at the school firsthand over the years. She attended St. Peter’s, taught at the two schools for 26 years, then became principal in 2002. Her children attended St. Peter’s, and her grandchildren are attending preschool and secondgrade there now, respectively.
She initially planned to move on to public school earlier in her career, but came to enjoy being part of St. Peter/St. Francis, and considers her role as an educator as a mission, she said.
With my children and my grandchildren going through here, it’s just like home. It’s a special place.” St. Peter/St. Francis School Principal Jo-Anne Gauger
“I couldn’t think of going anywhere else,” said Gauger. “I did go and look for jobs in public school, but I just never took them, because I just always felt this is where I belonged. So, to me, I guess it’s my life . ... With my children and my grandchildren going through here, it’s just like home. It’s a special place.”
The school provides a faithbased education, allowing students to attend church and pray the rosary. It educates non-Catholic students as well — and puts an emphasis on service to the community, she said. Her own children enjoyed the small size and
close-knit nature of life at the school, she said.
This year’s theme for Catholic Schools Week, a yearly offering by the National Catholic Educational Association held at the beginning of each year, is “learn, serve, lead, success” — a focus the school seeks to impart to its students.
“I think we try to try to explain that to the children and tell them that that’s what we want them to do — that yes, we want them to get good grades, but we want to be good people and we want them to go on to be adults that will offer something positive to society,” said Gauger.
In its heyday, St. Peter/St. Francis had more than 600 students attending classes in the building on Prospect Street. As enrollment declined, the multi-age model was instituted as a response. St. Peter and St. Francis schools, formerly separate institutions, merged in 2005.
The changes are part of a larger trend affecting Catholic schools nationwide. According to the National Catholic Educational Association, the number of American students attending Catholic institutions fell by 409,384, or 17.6 percent, between 2006 and 2016.
But St. Peter/St. Francis School is currently in a stable place, Gauger said. The school is due for accreditation by the National England Association of Schools and Colleges, and enrollment is suitable for the style of education it has chosen.
“This model that we’re in, multiage model, can go ideally from 80 to 100 students,” said Gauger. “I think that we’re good. We’d love to have 100, and that’s really not so far away — maybe we’ll get there.”
Gauger said she hopes for further growth at the school, which will allow work to be done on the building and additions to the educational offerings at the longstanding city institution. The school dates back more than a century, as St. Francis was founded in 1893 and St. Peter was founded in 1954, she said.
She would like to see parents come by the school to visit or reach out for more information.
“I would just love them to come in and see the children — how eager they are to learn, and how eager they are to help. And, also to show what we offer,” said Gauger. “I think we have a lot going on for a small school.”
St. Peter/St. Francis School can be reached by calling 860-489-4177, or visit www.spsfschool.org