HISTORY
The history of St.
Luke Catholic School is closely associated with the beginning of St. Luke
Parish. The parish was established in July of 1946 and in September 1947, a
temporary school was founded. The first pastor, Reverend James Hourihan, and his
parishioners aimed to fulfill the words of Jesus, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is
the Kingdom of Heaven". Realizing the advantage of a Catholic education for their children, they deemed no sacrifice too great
to accomplish the founding of a school.
To construct a permanent
school was out of the question because St. Luke Parish was heavily in debt. Plans for a temporary school were drawn. Father Harry Meade of North Hollywood had just
constructed a beautiful school and had at his disposal frame classrooms which he had
used for a number of years. He offered
them to the people of St. Luke Parish without any recompense. In due time, they were moved onto the property
at Cloverly and Broadway and the men of the Holy Name Society worked to remodel
the rooms. One hundred eighty children
were enrolled in the first
six grades.
The Sisters of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary accepted the invitation to teach in and administer the
new school. On September 13, 1947,
Sister Marie Christine was appointed principal. The rest of the staff was composed of Sister
Mary Joseph, Sister Annette, and Mrs. J. H. Raben.
In 1956, a new wing
of the school was completed. With the increase in school enrollment, larger
quarters had to be built. Fourteen
classrooms were in operation, eight in the old wing and six in the new wing. Within two years, 16 classrooms were used by over 800 children. In 1957 grass
was planted and a fence constructed along Live Oak and Cloverly for the safety
of the children. It was the hope of the
parishioners that these
facilities would adequately care for the educational needs of the children of St. Luke
Parish.
On June 30, 1969 the
Immaculate Heart Sisters, under the direction of Sister Anita Caspary, withdrew
from St. Luke Catholic School. The
Sisters of the Immaculate Heart under Sister Eileen MacDonald agreed to
continue to staff the school. The
Sisters were assisted by a qualified and able lay teaching staff, who served
a total enrollment of approximately 300 students in grades 1-8. As time went on there was a drop in enrollment. The
Archdiocese asked that where there were double classes of each grade, one class be dropped
each year. Since 1978 there have been
single classes for grades 1-8.
In 1988, an extra
classroom was converted to a computer lab, with the Writing-to-Read Program beginning in the spring
of 1989. In the same year, the Sisters
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary withdrew from their residency at St. Luke
Parish. In 1990, the first lay principal
in the school's history, Mrs. Mary Higgins, was appointed by Reverend Thomas
King, the pastor. This marked the
beginning of St. Luke Catholic School being staffed entirely by lay
personnel. In 1991, the school was
renovated, including the installation of air conditioning, new lighting, paint,
carpeting, and windows. In addition, unused
classrooms were converted to a science lab, an art room, a music room, a
library, and a staff workroom. Also in
1991, a kindergarten was started. In
1992, the convent was converted to the Parish Administration Center. In November of 1993, the new parish hall
opened, and the school's new asphalt playground and sand play area were
completed. In 1993 the parish began
incorporating girls as altar servers, which helped to increase our student
service to the parish.
In 1994, Mrs. Nancy
Koester was hired as principal. In 1998,
the choir and liturgy committee began.
In January of 2000, the playground was brought up to code by replacing
the sand with a rubber-based padding and new play equipment was installed. In 2001, St. Luke Catholic School students
began participating in academic decathlon.
Mrs. Koester relocated to Missouri in 2003.
Mr. David Zuber was
hired and served as principal in August of 2003 to March of 2006. In the 2004-2005 school year, a storage room was
redesigned to serve as the office for the administrative assistant. In 2006, gates and cameras were installed
around the plant to make it a closed campus. Maintenance of the school grounds
is reviewed annually and is an ongoing process.
Mr. Zuber left mid-year due to personal illness, and Mrs. Connie Lespron
took over as acting principal from March of 2006 through June of 2006.
Mrs. Erin Barisano
was hired in 2006 by Pastor Donald Grasha.
In 2008 speech and debate began.
In 2009 robotics and graphic design began. In the fall of 2012, the Transitional
Kindergarten commenced with a total of nine students. Spirit squad began in 2013. Mrs. Barisano was hired as Assistant Superintendent
in the Los Angeles Archdiocese and left in June of 2013.
In 2013, Ms. Yvette Jefferys and Mrs.
Nancy Nicholas were named as co-principals
for
the 2013-2014 school year
by Father Mark Strader, pastor. In June
of 2014, Mrs. Nancy Nicholas retired, and Ms. Yvette Jefferys became the sole principal. In July 2014, Mrs. Carol Desy was named as
vice principal. In 2014, the theater program commenced with our first
performance beginning in December 2014.
Since its foundation in 1947, St. Luke Catholic School has been committed to quality
Catholic education.
