Early Years

The Clerics of St. Viator founded the St. Viator Parish in 1888. The original St. Viator Elementary School opened fourteen years later, on September 3rd,1902. Father Thomas McCormick, then pastor of the parish, chose the Sisters of St. Joseph to be the teachers in the school. In the beginning, two sisters taught 40 school children.

 

At that time, the school was a modest building located near the parish's frame church. The original campus was a 16 acre plot near Crawford and Belmont Avenues. Parish growth necessitated a move, and space was secured at the intersection of Addison Street and Kedvale Avenue. Construction began in 1909 on the original section of the present-day school building. Dedicated in 1910, the church was on the first floor, and the classrooms were on the second and third floors. At that time, the building design was praised across the Archdiocese. In 1929, when the present Church was dedicated, the original building became an dedicated elementary school, teaching roughly 800 students.

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Mid-Century

In the late 1950s, construction began on a new recreation center on the north end of the campus. Throughout the following decades, thousands of students and community members used the gym and the meeting rooms for athletic competitions, school dances, the famed St. Viator Haunted House, and community events. In 2014, the Recreation Center was dedicated the “Fr. Edward Cardinal, C.S.V., Recreation Center,”  in honor of the St. Viator’s Pastor at the time when the center was built. Also in 2014, the actual gym was named the “Gary Galati Gymnasium” in honor of Parishioner and St. Viator parent Gary Galati’s 30+ years of service to the Parish. While he served both the Church and the School, Mr. Galati was best known for his work with the St. Viator Athletic Association.

 

St. Viator Today

Enrollment is no longer at 800 students, but the 3-story school building still operates at a high capacity. In addition to homerooms for every grade, from 3-year-old Preschool to 8th grade, it now houses a variety of rooms tailored to specialized educational resources. In our STEM Lab, students explore hands-on science, learning the basics of biology, chemistry, 3D printing, and robotics. The School Counselor visits with students in a dedicated resource room (former classroom), complete with comfortable chairs and couches. There are rooms on the second floor specifically for Enrichment services: Title 1 Math and Reading support, and specialized reading for challenge. We use our space to support our students where they learn.

 

St. Viator School continues to grow and change over the years. We are still guided by Father McCormick's belief: Setting high standards for education is an utmost priority. The St. Viator School mission is to instill a life-long love of learning, a respect for all people, and a commitment to Catholic social justice and peace.