Past Present And Future
THE PAST
St. Mary of Czestochowa School was founded in 1912 under the direction of the Rev. Stanislaus Musiel and at the request of Polish immigrants who desired a quality Christian education for their sons and daughters. The parish community converted what originally served as its church on Hubbard Street into a school, providing classrooms for the first class of St. Mary’s. Four Felician Sisters from Buffalo, New York, accepted the invitation to help the schoolchildren acquire the skills and language needed to function effectively in the ethnically centered society that predominated that era.
The rapid growth of the parish community and increased enrollment gradually evidenced the necessity of expansion. A newly constructed school was opened on October 11, 1930. The students were transferred from the old church school on Hubbard Street to the new facility facing South Main Street. On November 16, 1930, Bishop John J. Nilan officially dedicated the new structure.
THE PRESENT
Today, not far from the central business district of Middletown, a city of 45,000 that’s managed to maintain its small town wholesomeness, Grades One through Eight of Saint Mary School operate out of that traditionally designed multi-story facility located on South Main Street. Additionally, a Kindergarten and a Preschool are located in separate facilities within the St. Mary parish complex. Broadening its community base to include children of all ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds, St. Mary’s has expanded its curriculum to help students achieve a balanced and sound academic, physical, spiritual and social development, all provided in a nurturing environment where Christian knowledge, attitudes, and values predominate.
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
The future of St. Mary’s is an investment…an investment in its students who depart from our school preparing to become responsible members in a diverse and challenging modern society. Promoting Christian values and a belief in loving service to all, St. Mary School’s mission is to help students, through a partnership with parents and with an emphasis upon a safe and supportive school environment, realize and surpass their potential and to one day serve the public in fields of law, medicine, government, education, industry, and business and, as importantly, to also serve the Church in vocations and lay ministries.