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Tuesday, September 9, 2008
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More space for more students St. Francis undergoes expansion project in response to growth in student enrollment Staff Writer St. Francis of the Lakes Catholic School may seem to be, well, a bit blessed.
As the north Brainerd parochial school's $4 million expansion project is in full swing and construction workers on site nearly outnumber the teachers right now, the school's student enrollment has increased by 42 percent this school year alone.
While the Brainerd School District's failed operating levy referendum, the subsequent closure of Lincoln and Whittier elementary schools and larger class sizes appear to have played a major factor in the addition of 50 new students at St. Francis this fall, it doesn't shed light on the entire story.
The school, which will celebrate its centennial in 2009, has experienced a steady 10-15 percent growth in student enrollment during the last four years, said St. Francis Principal Deb Euteneuer on Monday. She said the school has added a new classroom and a teacher to the school each of the past five years to keep up with that growth. The school has a 17-member teaching staff, including Euteneuer as school administrator.
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Deb Euteneuer, principal at St. Francis of the Lakes Catholic School, donned a hard hat as she spoke about the improvements going on at the parochial school as construction workers Tony Brown (left) and Jeff Hanson nailed sheets of Sheetrock onto what will become a hallway. The hallway, which will join the two buildings at the school, will be completed within a few weeks but construction of the center main entrance and offices has a tentative completion date of December 2009. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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St. Francis had 10 new families move into the lakes area in recent months and enroll their children. They've also seen an increase in the number of students who were previously homeschooled, said Euteneuer.
The growth was already occurring and school supporters believed that now was the time to make the necessary building improvements. An anonymous donor provided $1 million for the project and the capital campaign is now under way to help raise the remaining money.
Father Gabriel Waweru of Brainerd Area Catholic Churches said the church has seen a resurgence in families placing importance on faith education in their lives and the lives of their children. He said many couples have returned to the church after they've taken their marriage preparation classes and later decided to raise their children with their own Catholic identity by attending the parochial school.
"They're taking ownership of their faith, which is a good thing," said Waweru.
Waweru said that faith education is particularly important for students in sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grades, building a strong foundation for them before they enter high school. St. Francis is open to students in prekindergarten through eighth grade. Many of the prekindergarten students stay enrolled once they've graduated from the program.
However, not all students who attend St. Francis are Catholic and they don't have to be either. Euteneuer said typically about 3 to 4 percent of students aren't Catholic but this year that number climbed to 5 or 6 percent. The school has 196 students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth-grade and 53 prekindergarten students enrolled in the three prekindergarten classrooms.
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Father Gabriel Waweru (left) of St. Francis Catholic Church smiled as he pretended to be hard at work Monday in the middle of the construction, working alongside Jay Arnold of Hy-Tec Construction, at St. Francis of the Lakes Catholic School. The parochial school has started a $4 million capital campaign for improvements. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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Euteneuer said the two major reasons why parents select St. Francis is because of its Catholic education and the smaller class sizes. Class sizes are kept low, ranging from nine to 23 students per class. Euteneuer said it has been a smooth transition as the large number of new students started school this fall.
"Students here are very excited about new students and very accepting," said Euteneuer. "We're basically treating others like Jesus would like us to treat each other."
Those who may have driven by St. Francis School this summer may have noticed the 65-foot chimney has been torn down, as was the single-story middle section that connected the two-story gym to the two-story classroom building. A temporary connection is now under construction and will be completed within a few weeks but until then, students have to walk outside to get to the gym or cafeteria.
"They're actually doing quite well," Euteneuer said of students dealing with the construction. "We've had to be pretty flexible."
The school building was constructed in 1952 with the gym portion of the building built in 1954. Other than some minor work here and there throughout the years, the school hasn't undergone major construction until now. The outdated boilers were removed this summer and all new heating and air conditioning was installed with air exchangers. An elevator shaft is now in place and the new elevator will allow for greater accessibility throughout the school.
Construction has been taking place in the basement below the gym where three classrooms were made into two larger classrooms, along with a new art room. New tile will be added in all the basement rooms.
Phase I of the project is anticipated to be completed by December, which involves a variety of renovations. The school building won't have a functional heating system until next month and Euteneuer said she's hoping the nice weather will continue until then.
Phase II construction will be tentatively finished by December of 2009 and includes completion of the west classrooms, art room, hallways and elevator, along with many finishing touches. The two-story center addition, which will include the main offices and a conference room, along with landscaping, also is to be completed by then.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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