St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Jordan recently finished the interior of the school’s second floor, adding nine classroom spaces. That includes classrooms for grades five through eight, and breakout rooms for students taking advanced placement classes. PHOTO COURTESY JOHN CHVATAL
More than 350 people attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 27 to celebrate completion of a build-out that will eventually house a new middle school at St. John the Baptist Catholic School in Jordan. In addition to tours of the school, people were invited to enjoy food trucks, a petting zoo and other entertainment for children.
For school leaders, the celebration was not only about the completed construction, but the enrollment growth the school has experienced and expects to continue.
Presently a pre-K-to-grade-six school, St. John the Baptist will add seventh grade in fall 2022 and eighth grade in 2023.
The school has expanded its usable space by finishing the interior of the school’s second floor, including the addition of nine classroom spaces. That includes classrooms for grades five through eight, and breakout rooms for students taking advanced placement classes.
The school does need more space for students, said Father Neil Bakker, pastor of St. John the Baptist, who acted in the role of principal last year before the school hired its current principal, Christopher Smith.
Father Neil Bakker, pastor of St. John the Baptist in Jordan, cuts the ribbon at a ceremony Aug. 27 to celebrate completion of a build-out on the second floor of the parish’s Catholic school. Fifth and sixth grades were moved to the second floor this school year, and grades seven and eight will be added over the next two years. PHOTO COURTESY JOHN CHVATAL
This school year’s pre-K-6 enrollment increased to 156 students, up from 111 last year and 76 the year before. Students were added to every grade level, said Father Bakker.
Fifth and sixth grade students moved to new classrooms on the school’s new second floor this school year. Seventh and eighth graders will join them in that space as those grades are added.
Raising money to finish the second-floor space started in earnest in early March and by the end of April, about $1.6 million had been raised toward the build-out cost.
Father Bakker said the Jordan school district adjusted middle school and high school models in 2004, with one fifth-through-eighth-grade building for middle school. With no middle school option at St. John the Baptist, that meant school parents often moved their children to the public school system after fourth grade.
So, St. John the Baptist parish needed to decide whether to no longer offer fifth and sixth grades, or add seventh and eighth, with children going to high school right from its grade school, Father Bakker said.
Enrollment growth this year has a few causes, he said. At least four families switched to the parish school from public schools. And due to the closing of Guardian Angels school in Chaska May 28, nine students moved to St. John the Baptist this school year.
“We did everything we could to accommodate those families,” Father Bakker said of former Guardian Angels families. He said that the school purchased a bus that runs a route through Carver and Chaska, to pick up students from families in that area and bring them to St. John the Baptist.
“We wanted to do all we could to make sure that they had good options for Catholic schools,” he said. “It’s important that they stay in Catholic schools.”
Father Bakker said St. John the Baptist is a good fit for former Guardian Angels families, because the schools were about the same size and his school has that same family feeling.
One of Guardian Angels’ “beloved middle school teachers” is now teaching middle school students at St. John the Baptist, Father Bakker said.
“It’s been a great blessing for us,” he said, and he also thinks it’s a healing component for former Guardian Angels families to have that familiar face.
“We’ve also been gaining a lot of momentum and positive word of mouth in the community about the school,” Father Bakker said.
He believes one big draw has been use of Edina-based Catholic Schools Center of Excellence’s Believe and Read program. Offered in partnership with Groves Academy in St. Louis Park, a national expert in reading instruction, the program helps students move to a new level in reading, in addition to helping those who struggle.
“I think parents would say that our school feels like a family,” said Father Bakker. “It feels like we know their children individually and we know their names. We know their personalities. We care to know them. We work very hard to keep them safe in heart, mind and soul.”
Recent Comments