History of St. Vincent de Paul School
Archbishop Thomas Connelly canonically established St. Vincent de Paul Parish on November 21, 1961. At that time approximately 300 families were parishioners. In 1963, construction plans called for a church, a hall, and a CCD center. When the Sisters of Notre Dame said that their community could staff a parish school, permission was given to expand the parish to include a school and convent.
St. Vincent de Paul School first opened its doors on September 9, 1964. In less than desirable conditions, the staff of sisters, led by Sister Dolores, instructed grades four through seven. Students were seated at folding tables and chairs and kept warm with portable heaters. In 1966, the school graduated 34 eighth graders. By 1968, with the parish growing quickly, the school expanded to include first, second, and third graders.
In 1970 parish growth and finances were a concern. The school cut back to only six grades while maintaining its full enrollment of 240 students. Without the junior high program, there was concern for continuity of Catholic education between sixth grade and high school. Once parish debt was under control, parents’ dreams were fulfilled, and the decision to reinstate the seventh and eighth grades was made in December 1986. After a fundraising campaign to cover the cost of creating classroom space, seventh and eighth grade portables were dedicated in 1989 and opened to the first seventh grade class in nearly 20 years. The eighth grade followed in 1990.
Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, St. Vincent de Paul Parish grew and was in need of a larger church facility to accommodate its population. In 1996, St. Vincent’s dedicated a new church building. The old church space was converted to a gym, the sacristy to a small music room, and the bride’s and groom’s rooms to an additional classroom. In 2001, an all-wood floor was installed in the gym. The renovation of the building was funded largely through the efforts of school families.
The school has twelve homerooms. The campus includes two portables, a library, a computer lab, a music room, a gym, a faculty lounge, a health room, administrative offices, and an additional classroom used for a variety of classes. Students use the parish social hall as a lunchroom. The facilities are used by parishioners for CCD, Grapevine, Life Teen, and CYO activities and classes.
New facilities were opened in the fall of 2003. Two rooms were added to the existing school building, which house a kindergarten and science lab. A second story was added to part of the church building, which house a larger library and computer lab. Hallway and lobby areas are connected to all of the new rooms. The previous library space was converted to a music room, and the former computer lab/health room was converted to accommodate a larger health room and a teacher work room.
Our school was accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools and the Western Catholic Education Association in 2004, 2010, and 2016.