A local Catholic school will soon have room for 50 to 100 more students. Aquinas Catholic Community School in Merrillville officially broke ground on a three-million-dollar, two-classroom addition Wednesday. It was made possible by a $1.25 million gift from the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation — later increased to $1.95 million to keep up with rising costs — in cooperation with the Big Shoulders Fund, which aims to boost Catholic school access to low-income children.
Principal Lisa Gutierrez says the school housed 10 grades in seven classrooms when she arrived in 2016, and it's grown by more than 60 students since then. "We have literally used every square foot of this entire campus. We have had class in the church. We've had kids in the rectory. We have done whatever we've had to do, in order to accommodate and fit and educate as many students in here who desired a Catholic education," Gutierrez said during Wednesday's groundbreaking.
But while Aquinas School was growing, Merrillville's Catholic parishes have been merging over the past year. Instead, much of the enrollment boost can be attributed to an infusion of state funding.
"The Indiana Choice Scholarship Program is one of the most generous school choice programs in the country, and with nearly 80 percent of Indiana families that are eligible, it makes pursuing education at a Catholic school more accessible than ever before," said Dan Kozlowski, managing director of Big Shoulders Fund Northwest Indiana.
Bishop Robert McClory of the Diocese of Gary says the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program helps give Catholic schools the chance to flourish, even as Catholic families themselves have a number of educational options from which to choose. "They certainly have options that range from traditional Catholic schools to others that use catechetical programs in our parishes and for some families who choose a home schooling option. And so we want to support families in doing what's best for their families and their children, and we look forward to seeing our schools thrive," Bishop McClory said.
Kozlowski notes that Aquinas not only serves children from Merrillville but also from nearby Gary, which he says has few options for quality education. "Certainly, there's a need in Gary [itself]. We don't deny that at all, and we're looking at all options. So I'd just say stay tuned. There's a lot of exciting things to come," he said.
While many of the Diocese of Gary's rural areas also lack Catholic schools, Kozlowski says, at least for now, Big Shoulders' focus is on Lake County's urban core.
