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53 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, January 28, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 12, 2005 Middle school students dressed for cheerleading gather in a hallway of Sacred Heart School. The middle school is the newest addition to the Catholic school campus in Medford. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Sacred Heart and St. Mary’s schools celebrate their 140th anniversary The original started in 1865 in Jacksonville By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Bundled against the cold, preschoolers grin and wave at Sacred Heart Catholic School Principal Patrick Reeder as they troop out to the playground. Reeder greets by name the youngsters filling the halls of the school where he was once a student. "There are so many little ties," said Reeder, who attended Sacred Heart and its sister school, St. Mary’s, along with his 10 siblings. He lists former students who now teach at Sacred Heart school, families who have attended for two or even three generations, and the numerous siblings and cousins in big extended families who have passed through the classrooms of Jackson County’s Catholic schools through the years. Sacred Heart school, which offers preschool through eighth grade at 431 S. Ivy St., is marking the 140th anniversary. St. Mary’s School, which offers sixth through 12th grades at 816 Black Oak Drive, plans to celebrate when school starts in the fall, St. Mary’s alumni director Patrick Naumes said. Advertisement Sacred Heart, which has 318 students, is growing, said Reeder, whose three children attend Sacred Heart just as he did. Just since last year, the middle school, which opened in 2000, has grown from 36 to 68 students, he said. While some of the growth is from people moving into the area, Reeder attributes part of it to financial troubles in public education that have trimmed programs and sent class sizes soaring. Tuition-supported Sacred Heart boasts a ratio of 17 students per teacher. It has a part-time librarian, music education in all grades and a computer lab. The Medford School District had an average elementary class size of 27 students this fall. Budget cuts forced the elimination of specialists who worked in elementary libraries and also required the reorganization of elementary music programs. Eileen Leavens, who has a daughter in seventh grade and sons in fourth and fifth grades at Sacred Heart, said she and her children like seeing familiar faces from church at school. "You know your kids are in a safe environment," she said. "There’s a community feeling. It’s about being around like-minded people and continuing our Christian, Catholic values." Her husband, Bill Leavens, attended the school with his sisters and brothers a generation ago. His family has attended Sacred Heart Church for years. Kids attend Mass every two weeks, participate in religious ceremonies and win "halo awards" for good behavior, Eileen Leavens said. Math and music teacher Don Meeker also likes the school’s Christ-centered approach. A lifelong member of Sacred Heart Church, he attended the school, as did his children, who are now grown. He taught four years in public schools, but was laid off in budget cuts in the late 1980s and joined the Sacred Heart staff in 1989. "For me as a teacher, it’s nice working in a place that’s not dependent on voters for funding," Meeker said. Fund-raisers by parents and parishioners supplement tuition. Annual tuition this year is $3,443 for active Catholic church members and $4,443 for others. Reeder declines to disclose the school’s budget. Meeker, who coaches Sacred Heart’s football team, also praised the freedom a private school has to offer whatever programs it sees fit. However, he points out that the school still administers standardized tests to measure student progress and follows general curriculum guidelines set out by the state Department of Education. The state no longer accredits private schools, but Sacred Heart is accredited through the Salem-based Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. Reeder said that as principal he wants to continue to build on Sacred Heart’s tradition with a focus on long-term planning, facilities and marketing. The school has space for 370 students, but he wants to maintain the sense of community a small school can provide. "Catholic schools ebb and flow and we must manage the highs and the lows," he said. Two schools grew from the 1865 St. Mary’s Academy 1865 — Francois X. Blanchet, pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in Jacksonville, starts raising money for a Catholic school. Classes start at the school, named St. Mary’s Academy, on Sept. 11, 1865, with 12 boarding students, 33 day students and three teaching nuns from the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in Portland. 1889 — The sisters close the school because the church’s pastor was often away on missionary work. They reopen the school in 1891 when petitioned by Jacksonville residents. 1908 — At the invitation of Medford civic leaders, the school moves to a new three-story building at 13th and Holly streets. At this time, the school had about 125 student and a faculty of six sisters. 1949 — Sacred Heart Parish in Medford purchases the school from the Sisters of the Holy Names and renames it St. Mary’s School. Enrollment tops 300 students, forcing the school to limit admission. 1952 — The parish builds a second school building at the 13th and Holly site. Within a decade, classes outgrow the space and the parish decides to divide St. Mary’s School into an elementary school called Sacred Heart school and a high school called St. Mary’s. 1962 — St. Mary’s High School opens in January in a new building on Black Oak Drive. 1971 — The Sacred Heart parish decides it can’t support two schools and plans to close the high school. A committee to save the high school gets permission from the Archbishop of Portland and incorporates St. Mary’s as an independent Catholic school. 1987 — A fire destroys the 1952 Sacred Heart School building. When the structure is rebuilt, seventh and eighth grades move to St. Mary’s, which later adds a sixth grade class to have a full middle school. 2000 — Sacred Heart School adds a middle school, and now has 318 students in preschool through eighth grade. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers