Inaugural School Year
The 2007-2008 school year marked the inaugural year of Saint Mary Academy where classes started on August 15th. Saint Mary Academy is the result of the regionalization of Mother of Good Counsel Parish School and Immaculate Conception Parish School and for the next two years will operate on two campuses under the direction of one principal, Mary Alice Zettel The school serves Preschool through Eighth Grade students and will be the first regional school in the Archdioceses of Louisville built from the ground up.
The Saint Mary Academy Building committee includes representatives from the Archdiocese, Mother of Good Counsel, Transfiguration of Our Lord and Immaculate Conception and is currently working on the project to build the new school facility. Property on St. Rt.1694 in the Norton Commons development is contracted to the Archdiocese and will be home to the school campus and eventually the new parish church which will be built to house the parish resulting from the Mother of Good Counsel and Transfiguration of Our Lord merger announced earlier this year. The anticipated completion date for the school is estimated at mid-year 2009.
For those involved in the regionalization of Mother of Good Counsel Parish School and Immaculate Conception Parish School it has been an exciting and sometimes bittersweet endeavor. As with many of the parishioners at the respective parishes, we mourn the end of 55 years of parish school education. However, the cost of educating children in the Catholic School environment has been steadily increasing, making it more and more difficult for individual parish schools to keep tuition costs at an attainable level for the communities they serve. The Regional school model is being used in Louisville and in Archdioceses across the country as a means to provide students with the best of Catholic education and amenities while keeping tuition costs down.
The Board Members and school parents of SMA share a common vision of creating a first class Catholic school while preserving the sense of community and family atmosphere. The effort is fully supported by the pastors at Mother of Good Counsel and Immaculate Conception, Fr. Bill Medley and Fr. Mark Spalding, as well as the Archdiocese. In addition, the school is fortunate to have the proven leadership and vast experience of our principal, Mary Alice Zettel.
Saint Mary Academy has a solid foundation of two schools with a strong history of providing quality faith based education. The school also has the commitment of leadership to assure success.