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History
of St. Anne Roman Catholic Grade School In
1948 permission was sought and granted to start a grade school.
The first units of St. Anne Grade School and Convent were built
and occupied in the fall of 1949. His
Eminence Edward Cardinal Mooney presided at the dedication. Sister
M. Lorenza of the Sisters of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary was appointed Superior.
She, with three Sister companions, comprised the pioneer grade
school staff. Through
the good will of the late Mr. Oscar Hartsig
(President of the Warren School Board for many years) and Dr.
Paul Cousino (A
former Superintendent of the Warren Consolidated School System), St.
Anne children were transported on the Warren Consolidated School busses. Mother
M. Lorenzo was Superior for the first six years until 1955. In
1961, Mother M. Michaeleen became Principal of St. Anne Grade School.
During her time the school reached its maximum capacity of
students. The addition of
13 classrooms completed the elementary school, making a total of 26
classrooms. Early
in 1968, St. Anne asked Warren Consolidated to enter into a shared-time
program for grades 3-8. The
two Boards of Education agreed on a contract defining the methods of
administrative control, since the type of program would differ from that
in the High School. The
difference was that the Public School sector of Shared-time would be
housed in a wing of the Parochial School Building. Under
this agreement, the Public School took over a wing of St. Anne School
consisting of 12 classrooms, a gym, and an office with its facilities.
The Public School employed 12 classroom teachers, a full-time
principal and secretary. In
addition, teachers for music, physical education, and art were supplied. In
1972 this program was extended to include grades 1-8.
The principal at this time was Sr. Lois Morgan.
She served as principal from 1968-1978. Sr.
Patricia Lynch, O.P. became Principal at St. Anne from 1978-1983.
Her last year saw the Warren Consolidated School Board defeat the
Shared-time program. The
St. Anne Education Commission decided to phase out the Shared-time
program over a period of three years - each year lessening the amount of
public school teachers and classrooms.
Finally, in the fall of 1985, St. Anne Elementary School once
again was all parochial. For
the first time since its onset, a layman, Dr. Thom Engel, took over the
position of principal at St. Anne in the fall of 1983 to the present.
Ms. Sally Chaney serves as the assistant principal.
As of September, 1994 St. Anne became fully accredited by the
Michigan Nonpublic School Accrediting Association. Throughout
all these changes, St. Anne Roman Catholic Grade School has continued to provide
its children with quality education and is committed to do so in years
to come.
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