Monsignor Hackett was the founder of St. Catherine’s. Since its very inception, he had a vision and determination to build what is today a real tribute to his foresight. In the spring of 1981, Monsignor Hackett retired and Monsignor Sean B. Flanagan became the new pastor.
Monsignor Hackett died in December, 1988. Earlier that year, the parish hall was named in his honor. Monsignor Sean Flanagan remained the pastor until July, 2002 when he moved to a smaller parish in Long Beach and Father Paul Vigil took over the responsibility as new pastor, followed by Fr. Paul Griesgraber. Fr. Mauricio Goloran, the current pastor, was installed in 2016.
The first unit of the school was begun in 1951 and was opened to students in September, 1952. The school was staffed by Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and the first unit of St. Catherine’s convent was built.
Because of the rapid growth in the area, a second unit of the school was added in 1953. In 1956, additions to the school and convent were made. A fourth unit of the school and a final unit of the convent were built in 1958. The school had two classrooms for each grade level, one through eight, with 50 to 55 students in each classroom.
Due to the population growth in the valley, it became necessary to divide the parish. The territory east of Louise formed the new parish of St. Bridget of Sweden in the year 1955. The parish was again divided with the territory west of Vanalden forming part of the new parish of St. Joseph the Worker in the year 1956.
In 1971, in compliance with an Archdiocesan mandate, the school began phasing out one classroom each year. The program continued, and we became an eight classroom school in 1978. The vacant classrooms have been utilized as a, computer lab, library, school office, health room, CCD office, Youth Ministry Office and a Science lab.
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Crondelet served St. Catherine of Siena for twenty three years, followed by the administration of a lay principal for one year. Beginning in August, 1975 an Adrian Dominican, Sister Elizabeth Nolan assumed the administrative responsibility and two other sisters of the same community joined the faculty. Kindergarten was added in September, 1981. This has proven to be a valuable addition to our school.
The three Adrian Dominican sisters left in June, 1983. It was at this time Mrs. Marion Falchi became principal. In the spring of 1990, central air conditioning was installed in all the classrooms, library and office. Mrs. Falchi left St. Catherine’s for a position with the Department of Catholic Schools and was replaced by Dr. Don Dyer in September, 1990.
In 1999, following a shooting at a nearby Jewish day care facility, wrought iron security fencing was installed around the school. During the summer of 2000 the modular building obtained after the earthquake was made a permanent structure. The building served as our day care facility and meeting rooms for the parish until 2002 when work began on the building to convert it to a pre-school facility.
Dr. Don Dyer retired in June of 2002 and moved to Tennessee. Dr. Paul Sullivan, Vice Principal, replaced Dr. Dyer as principal of St. Catherine’s for two years.
Dr. Sullivan was Principal, June 2002 to June 2004. Mrs. Teri Glenn was Principal from the summer of 2004 to June 2007.
In 2007, we welcomed Ms. Roberta Fox as our new principal. With a new emphasis on curriculum development, St. Catherine received new teaching materials.
In the summer of 2009, Mr. CJ Kruska stepped in as the new principal along with the new
Administrator Pro Tem, Fr. Paul Griesgraber. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, through Together In Mission, helped to improve the facility of the school and parking lots. A new exterior paint scheme was added to the school and hall. Between the classrooms, the basketball courts were removed and a beautiful grass courtyard was created. The parish also received a new parking lot and playground surface.
The “Field of Dreams” was dedicated to the memory a St. Catherine alumnus Hugo Lopez by Bishop Gerald Wilkerson on August 30, 2009. The field hosted several events in 2009-2010 including school and parish picnics, athletic events and a in July 2010 a special welcome Mass to honor our new Archbishop Jose Gomez Mass.
Mr. Kruska resigned as Principal in November 2010. Fr. Paul named Sr. Sheila McNiff, SHCJ as Principal. The transformation in Christ in the school daily life was blessed. An increased enrollment was a primary focus with an increase of 89 new student
Technology, enrollment and tutoring continue to be goals of the School Advisory Board. Technology has had significant developments. Every class has the capacity to teach with a projector that places the text book on a screen for the students to follow. Our technology curriculum for each grade is followed in the weekly computer lab classes. Parent messaging systems are in weekly use. Tablets are in use in the Junior High classes with their textbooks in the app program. Learning centers in the K-5 classes as well as class presentations use computers.
In June of 2015, Sister Sheila retired from her role as principal to continue her role as a leader in her community. Ms. Desiree Tedesco was hired as the new principal to begin the year of 2015-16. Under the direction of Deacon Phil Luevanos, the school had a fresh start with a dedicated group of teachers ready to commit to excellent teaching practices and instill the roles and responsibilities to our students of what it means to be a Catholic Christian in today’s society.
St. Catherine of Siena School and Parish were blessed in the summer of 2016 when word was spread that Father Mauricio Goloran was going to begin his journey with our Parish. He is dedicated to the growth and prosperity of both the Parish and the school.
We have instituted STREAM at Saint Catherine’s School where the students are exposed to projects that incorporate, Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art., and Math. Every Friday, the students work in their school families to create, investigate, and finish thematic STREAM activities that incorporate the themes of the academic as well as the liturgical calendar.
This school is unique in our mission to provide an excellent Catholic education. We prepare students, regardless of ethnicity or family income, to become kind, courageous and wonderful children of God, transforming the world around us.
Mrs. Lilian Rivas became principal in July 2017. The current administration is continually examining and making changes to the school’s structure in order to make it a financially viable institution.
During the 2016–17 school year, the structure of the school was further modified in order to better support student achievement and address staff concerns. Preschool remained a self-contained classroom, with one teacher responsible for teaching, one grade of students, all subjects. Kindergarten and Grade 1 were single-age classrooms, but the teachers were departmentalized. The remaining classrooms were divided as follows: 2/3, 4/5, 6/7 and 8. In addition, teaching responsibilities were departmentalized to varying degrees among the grade levels. The school received donations that allowed for the addition of a part-time teacher’s aide and part-time Physical Education teacher. Two volunteer teachers from the Sisters of Notre Dame were also added to the staff. One of the volunteer Sisters teachers Religion to the Junior High grades and the other serves as Music teacher and Liturgical Coordinator.
During the 2018–19 school year, the departmentalization of the school was further developed and formalized into its current conception. The school is now divided into three grade level blocks, TK–1st (Primary Block), 2nd–5th (Elementary Block), 6th–8th (Junior High Block). Departmentalization was refined such that each teacher is able to teach to their strongest subject areas. The Kindergarten teacher is responsible for the alignment of the reading programs in the Primary Block. There are three teachers in the Elementary Block, two full-time and one part-time. One teacher is responsible for 2/3 Homeroom and Elementary ELA; another is responsible for 4/5 Homeroom and Elementary Religion, Science and Social Studies; the part-time teacher is responsible for Elementary Math. The Junior High Block is composed of two full-time teachers and two volunteer Religion teachers. One full-time teacher is responsible for Junior High Reading and Science while the other is responsible for Junior High Math, Writing and Social Studies. The school also maintains a part-time Physical Education teacher. The level of current staffing is successful due to holding parents accountable for paying tuition in a timely manner. Enrollment continues to be a deciding factor in staffing. Staffing and curriculum assignments are constantly being reviewed to best meet the needs of students and faculty.
