School Spotlight: St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School
Within the walls of St. Vincent de Paul, you’ll see all of the usual signs of a normal school day. Kids hard at work and teachers such as Molly Kain doing their best to help students succeed.
“Second grade is so fun for me,” Kain said. “I feel like we get to take the first-graders and watch them soar. I hope they get to be even more fluent and expressive readers.”
Kain has taught at St. Vincent de Paul for the past seven years.
“I feel like I’ve found a gold mine here,” she said. “I’ve found a school that really values the whole child for who they are.”
The school has 500 students enrolled in preschool through eighth grade. Class sizes here are small.
“I think when you are at St. Vincent’s, you really do matter,” Kain said. “People know your student by name, and your family by name.”
Meanwhile, beyond the core subjects taught at every grade level, the school also emphasizes faith. Students pray in class, and religion is taught on a daily basis.
“Every Wednesday morning we start the day with mass ,and it’s a wonderful way for us to come together as a community and worship,” said Lisa Simon, principal at St. Vincent de Paul.
All Faiths Welcomed
Simon says that even though this is a Catholic school, you don’t have to be Catholic to attend.
“Certainly as a Catholic school, the majority of people who come here are Catholic,” Simon said. “But we’re also noticing an uptick in the number of families who are finding us from different faiths, and they report to me that they feel very welcome and honored.”
After all, the mission of the school — regardless of faith — is to provide a quality education and help students become good human beings. Families do have to pay a tuition of around $4,000 for students to attend St. Vincent de Paul, but staff members here say it’s a worthwhile investment.
“I hope [parents] realize that we will try to give the very best opportunities with their dollar to make their student the most well-rounded, and happiest and wholesome student they can be,” Kain said.
When students graduate from St. Vincent de Paul, many go on to attend high school at Totino-Grace.
Totino-Grace High School
