By Kelly White
St. Jerome’s Catholic School recently celebrated 100 years in its beloved Chicago home. The main campus, 2801 S. Princeton Ave., marked the landmark occasion.
“This was a moment of gratitude and reflection on the first 100 years of our school community, but also a moment to renew the spirit and the commitment to Catholic education for the next 100 years here at St. Jerome,” the Rev. Antonio Musa, Pastor of St. Jerome Croatian Parish, said. “We are grateful for all the beautiful memories that generations of St. Jerome students shared with us. They spoke of our proud history and many achievements but most of all about the community. St. Jerome has always been a family. Through the investments in our future, we wish to ensure that this community continues to thrive here on the South Side of Chicago.”
Fr. Musa said the school’s roots highlight much more than just a 100-year-old neighborhood landmark, however.
“As a Franciscan, I like to think that St. Jerome’s way is a Franciscan way,” he said. “Our Catholic faith is the foundation of all we do, but we do it in the spirit of friendship and hospitality. This is the community where priests know your name, your family, and your story. We are close to people, close to each other. What once started as a small Croatian neighborhood story now is the story of many people with different backgrounds. We see many individuals and families coming to us after their churches were closed. They feel at home here with us, however, this cannot be artificially created. The Spirit of St. Francis naturally resides here at St. Jerome. This is why people are coming to us.”
Mary Hyland, principal of St. Jerome Catholic School, agreed.
“Celebrating 100 years was about honoring all of the memories of our community over the years and everyone working together to make St. Jerome Catholic School what it is today,” Hyland said. “We are looking forward to the next 100 years. St. Jerome is really a beautiful celebration of culture and community connection.”
Known as a legacy school that exemplifies a strong leadership culture by unleashing the highest potential in students, staff, families, and community, St. Jerome has strong ties to the Bridgeport and Croatian communities.
Three factors contribute to the school’s continued success, Hyland said: the zeal within Chicago’s Roman Catholic hierarchy; the willingness and sacrifices of clergy, religious, and lay teachers; and the charity and work of parishioners.
Successful alumni
St. Jerome’s alumni have filled many important stations in life. Numerous religious, physicians, lawyers, architects, and public servants have passed through its doors, including the city’s late former mayor and former Illinois State Supreme Court Justice Michael A. Bilandic and the late mayor of Niles, IL, Nicholas Blase. Many second, third, and fourth generation students currently attend St. Jerome School.
Several alumni are teachers, and the school prides itself on serving as a global beacon in a world of greatness cultivated over time while providing opportunities to new families in the area, for example, by opening its Santa Lucia Campus for preschoolers through third graders in 2022 at 3017 S. Wells St.
St. Jerome’s acquired the remodeled Early Learning Campus, the former location of Santa Lucia School and parish that closed in June 2019, from the Archdiocese and redesigned it to meet educational needs among St. Jerome’s youngest students.
“I love the way we were able to take what was a grammar school building and make small renovations, like changing paint colors, and be able to have made such a huge impact with the Santa Lucia Campus,” Hyland said.
With attentive and caring teachers, students have the opportunity to grow through a specialized approach that encourages observation and interaction with older children who serve as mini mentors to the younger students, Hyland noted.
“This program inspires our youngest students and leads to higher engagement within their own classes as well as giving older kids the chance to hone their leadership skills,” she said. “In a developmentally age-appropriate environment, it gives kids a chance to be out of their self-contained classrooms and the opportunity to thrive.”
Options and programs
Key features of the Santa Lucia Campus include half and full day options for preschool and kindergarten students, a one-to-one iPad program, a small student-to-teacher ratio, an after-care program, an indoor play facility, physical education, music, and art and foreign language classes.
With many younger and particularly first-time families in the area, school officials said the campus gives parents security and confidence knowing they are sending their children to a school with a deep sense of community and a strong religious education background.
About 50 students attend in the early learning program.
“Not only as a professional educator, but as a mother myself, it’s wonderful to have a campus where kids can go to connect with other kids and parents with other parents,” Hyland said. “Even at school pick-ups, parents can meet and talk with other parents whose children are in the same grade levels. Hopefully, this connection will continue on as the children grow and move from our Santa Lucia Campus to our main campus.”
Moving the younger grades over from the main campus allowed the main site to add a resource room and rooms for music, art, and Spanish.
St. Jerome’s main campus dates to 1922, when the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ began working in Croatian schools in America.
Today the school is a modern building with nine classrooms for grades four through eight, a computer lab, and a full working kitchen. St. Jerome’s equipped all classrooms with state-of-the-science interactive white boards, handheld interactive devices for students’ new computers, iPads for teachers, internet, and Wi-Fi. The school continues to grow.
Further renovations
St. Jerome’s continues to renovate its main campus, most recently by replacing the school cafeteria’s floor. Workers currently are replacing the doors; a parish family donated new ones.
Next up, R.T. Milord Co. of Bridgeview, IL will build a new gym and parish center or main hall, which will connect to the main campus and host many events.
Workers will expand the current space by a few feet, add a new floor, remove old paneling, and add and paint new drywall.
The school also is building a new kitchen and improving the existing big hall. In the project’s second phase, the parish will add an elevator to the church.
“It is very exciting, and I cannot wait to see how our school, our parish, and our community will benefit from this,” Fr. Musa said. “This year at St. Jerome will be very hectic, but a good one.”
School officials said the gym will benefit the entire community. The school currently buses students to Armour Park at 3309 S Shields Ave. for physical education (PE) courses. Having a gym will allow on-site PE and provide a space for dances, school programs, and fundraisers while freeing up more Armour Park availability for the community. The gym also will have a kitchen for both the school and parish.
School officials estimate the project will cost more than $4 million, with most of the money coming from parish funds and donations from generous parishioners. Some parishioners live in the neighborhood, and some come from the suburbs on weekends for the Croatian school on Saturdays and Croatian Mass on Sundays, Fr. Musa said.
He noted the late “Michael Bilandic, his sister Eleanor, and his brothers Nick and Steve always supported St. Jerome in its religious and educational efforts. The Bilandic family made a substantial donation for this school project, and we are very grateful for the faith and education they received here at St. Jerome. This was the source of their loyalty and their support for the parish and school over the decades.”
For more information, log on to www.stjeromeschool.net or call (312) 842-7668.