St. Clare Of Montelfalco Catholic School Celebrates 100 Years!!!

St. Clare of Montefalco Catholic School is reaching a milestone: The school is turning 100 years old!

Turning one hundred is certainly something to celebrate, whether it is a person or an institution, and St. Clare of Montefalco Catholic School has a lot to celebrate. Because of its age, St. Clare of Montefalco has seen a great many people pass through its doors. Opened in 1927 in Grosse Pointe Park, the school has helped to educate scores of children.

Marilee Williams, who everybody refers to as “Chee Chee,” is now 88, and she entered St. Clare’s doors in 1937 as a first grader. “They didn’t have kindergarten in my day,” she laughs. “My dad was a Catholic, my mom was a convert, and because she was a convert, she purposely felt that the Catholic education of her children was very important. The teachers were all religious sisters, part of the Dominican order from Columbus, Ohio.”

Williams went on as a mother to send her three children to St. Clare. “For me there was no other choice, and certainly St. Clare was a beautiful option. I feel their Catholic education in the first 8 years was the building block for their future life.

The family’s St. Clare tradition is being carried on with her granddaughter, whose youngest child will start kindergarten at St. Clare in the Fall. For Kamika Richardson, a mother of four with one child in high school and two kids in college, St. Clare is the choice for her youngest child, Trayvon, who is 8 years old.

“I was looking for a school that can continue to help me with the academic growth of my son, and with this school particularly, it is his faith. I know he will have a good education on top of learning about his faith.”

Richardson says that Trayvon loves books, and though he likes to read, Trayvon says that Math is his favorite subject. “I make him read a book a day,” she says, “but we are also working on his handwriting.”

One of the other things that attracted Richardson to St. Clare was sports. “I would always see the kids outside playing throughout the day because I work nearby. She wants Trayvon to have the camaraderie and friendships that can come from being involved in sports.

Principal Meghan Harris is steering the school in its 100 year, with Rev. Andrew Kowalczyk, a Michaelite Father, who oversees the school, and who is also the current pastor of St. Clare of Montefalco Church. In 2012, after 86 years of service, the Augustinian religious order passed the reins of St. Clare of Montefalco parish and school to the Michaelite order of priests.

Today, St. Clare is seeing new growth. Parents speak of their desire to find a school that has academic excellence, small class sizes, sports opportunities, a multicultural student body, and for many the most important thing of all, a faith-based place of learning.

After so many years, St. Clare has the experience and the expertise to provide a great learning environment for children. There is much truth in their slogan, “We’ve been producing great students for a long time.”