St. Edward's Celebrates 50-Year 'History of Success'

A lot has changed since 1961 when the first opened its doors.  Unpaid nuns called the "Sisters of Mercy" no longer live above the classrooms they teach, the standards of education are constantly improving, and the implementation of technology is increasing every year as part of teachers' tool sets.

Still, the Catholic grade school's Principal Joanne Fitzgerald says the foundation has remained the same: "the best faith-based academics possible".

"When I started with St. Edward's, we had one smart board," says Fitzgerald.  "Now there's a style with the students as much more active participants, it once was sit and listen, now there's a lot more interaction."

The school has also worked to accomodate students' needs and interests, including a full-time resource teacher for special needs, and various clubs and other extracurricular activities.

"We embrace everyone," says Fitzgerald.  "That has been the history of the school: a structured, caring community."

The school encourages its moral standards through CAUT, or Care, Acceptance, Understanding, and Trust.

Linda West, by teaching at the school since 1972, has seen these changes first-hand, though notes the individual attention each student still receives.

"We know all of the students by name," says West. "We have 100 percent of our students graduating and moving on to mostly Catholic High Schools, all of our students pass state tests... We're very competitive. Ours is a history of success."

The principal and teacher agree on one thing: the value of faith-based education.

"The economy has hit us, like all other schools," says Fitzgerald.  "We offer a very competitively priced, faith-based, quality education in a caring, friendly environment."