St. Catherine-St. Lucy School: A Family with a Great Legacy
This is the first in a series of profiles about the remarkable partner schools that are the pillars of The Neighborhood Bridge.
St. Catherine-St. Lucy School’s deep roots in the Austin/Oak Park community date back to 1885 when St. Catherine’s Academy was the first Catholic grammar school to open in Austin, at Washington Boulevard and Central. Today the school building erected in 1917 at Washington and Humphrey in Oak Park still serves Austin and surrounding communities, educating over 200 students in PK-3 to eighth grade each year.
Although the school has weathered many challenges over the years, what has remained constant is the dedication of the extraordinary faculty and staff to the mission of “creating an environment that supports, uplifts, and sets each child on a path to success.”
Sharon Leamy: This is a beautiful place
Principal Sharon Leamy, who started out as a junior high math and science teacher in 2006, has been at the helm since 2018, after serving as co-principal for four years. Under her watch, St. Catherine-St. Lucy (SCSL) became one of 30 Big Shoulders Fund schools in 2020, drawing the support necessary to better meet the needs of students and enrich the community.
At the same time, major fundraising efforts enabled the renovation of Maguire Hall, which houses the gym, home to the SCSL Wildcats basketball and volleyball teams, and a tutoring center, the Fenwick Center for Academic Excellence. The partnership with Fenwick High School, located less than a mile west on Washington Boulevard, supports SCSL by manning the center with volunteer tutors from the high school and establishing a scholarship fund for graduates who attend Fenwick.
Of the 205 children who attend SCSL, 85% live in Austin and 65% qualify for the free breakfast and lunch program.
Leamy says the current student body of 205 children represents 150 families, 85% of whom live in Austin, with the remainder coming from surrounding suburbs, such as Oak Park, Cicero, Maywood, and Bellwood, which speaks to the health of the school, she notes. When asked why families choose to send their children to the school, she says, “The fact that it’s a Christian school (most families are not Catholic), its size and reputation, and its comfort level – they see themselves in the classroom.”
The 205 students are enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade, as well as in the Early Learning Academy for children three to five years old. SCSL also offers a before- and after-school program, which runs from 7 a.m. until school begins at 8:05, and from school dismissal at 2:45 until 6 p.m. Leamy says about 20 students attend the morning session, with 80 to 90 students in the afternoon session.
Meeting the needs of students goes beyond their education. Leamy says 65% of the school population qualifies for free meals and, because of how the program is administered, all students are included in the breakfast and lunch program, while students in the after-school program receive a snack.
“A lot of my time is spent trying to help the teachers and cobbling together resources for the kids and the families.” — Sharon Leamy, principal
Currently, there is one teacher for each grade from first through eighth, while kindergarten has one teacher and one aide, and the Early Learning Academy has one teacher and three aides. Leamy readily admits the school would benefit from more resources. “A lot of my time is spent trying to help the teachers and cobbling together resources for the kids and the families,” she says. “We have an occupational therapist one day a week and a counselor one day a week, but we could use more, along with some special education resources.”
Leamy adds, “We rely on the generosity of volunteers, whether it’s reading with the kids, working in the library, helping with paperwork, a variety of things. I don’t know what we’d do without them."
One resource that has had a tremendous impact is SCSL’s partnership with Chicago Jesuit Academy’s High School Bridge program, which works with seventh- and eighth-graders to prepare them for high school and follows them for their first two years to ensure their success. An advisor from the program helps students and their parents choose a high school, coaches them on the admissions process, and helps them find scholarship opportunities. Some scholarships require an in-person interview, and the advisor will help eighth-graders with their interview skills.
Leamy reports that most SCSL students go to private high schools, rattling off recent destinations: Trinity, St. Pat’s, Fenwick, Josephinum, Walther Christian, Christ the King, Holy Trinity. “What I really want is to see these kids getting the same opportunities as other kids,” she says.
“Staff is concerned about the students’ success, not just their academic success.” — Sharon Leamy, principal
What is special about the school, she notes, is how dedicated the faculty and staff are and how invested they are in the students. “They are concerned about the students’ success, and not just their academic success. They want these kids to be the best they can be. They really believe in this!” There is not a lot of turnover in the faculty, she adds. Two teachers have been there for 30 years or more and many have deep roots at SCSL, whether as students themselves or as parents of students.
“This is a beautiful place,” Leamy says. “I’m very grateful that I have the chance to be here.”
Mo Okoeguale: Truly a family
One longtime faculty member is Mo Okoeguale, who has been teaching at SCSL for 30 years. (She quickly notes that she is not the most senior member of the faculty. That honor goes to Sharon Bryant, current third-grade teacher, who has been there since 1992.) Okoequale’s ties to SCSL are strong—she’s been a parishioner for 16 years and is the parent of a fifth-grader, Omosoria, who made her First Communion in St. Catherine-St. Lucy Church, where the family also held the funeral Mass for Okoeguale’s husband, Sunday, affectionately known as “Sunny,” in 2020.
Okoeguale has taught preschool through fourth grade during her tenure and currently is the second-grade teacher. The best thing about the school, she says, is “the family atmosphere. We are truly a family to each other here.” She also appreciates being able to bring religion into the conversation, allowing her to “minister to the students.”
One of the biggest challenges in recent years, she says, was teaching during COVID. “That switch to technology really pushed me out of my comfort zone,” she chuckled. “I did it, but I’m glad to be back in the classroom.”
She is concerned about some changes she’s seen in her students throughout the years, primarily one she attributes to technology and its promise of instant gratification. “They grow up not knowing the value of perseverance,” she notes, adding, “I have to motivate students to fail and try again.” Okoeguale laments that parental involvement has waned over the years, a feeling echoed by others.
But these challenges do not diminish her enthusiasm for teaching or for SCSL. “From every perspective—teacher, parent, parishioner—I’ve enjoyed my experience here.”
Arnette Young: A loving, welcoming atmosphere
Another teacher whose children also attended SCSL, Arnette Young, joined the faculty in 2001 and is currently the eighth-grade homeroom teacher. She sent her three children to the school after she and her husband heard good things about it from neighbors. One daughter went on to Trinity, another daughter attended Walter Payton, and her son went to Urban Prep.
Young enjoys teaching eighth-graders, she says adding with a laugh. “They know everything!” One change that has been of enormous benefit is the school’s involvement in the High School Bridge program, where students and families get targeted help in choosing the best high school for them. Prior to that, it was up to the eighth-grade teacher.
“The whole process is stressful for students and parents,” she says. “Just keeping track of entrance exams for both private and public schools can be overwhelming.”
Young recalls a student who was on the waiting list for one high school, so she contacted the admissions office and recommended him. He struggled early on, but the Bridge advisor met with the student and his high school advisor to work out a plan and get him back on track. “He turned it around and is now going into his junior year,” she says, beaming.
She keeps in touch with as many of her former students as she can. “Many come back to visit quite often, and some come back as guest speakers.”
Like others, Young cited the two biggest challenges as the lack of resources typically available in a public school and diminishing parental involvement.
But parents know that when they send their children to SCSL, she says, they will be safe and well taken care of. She describes the faculty and staff as “dedicated, caring nurturers” who provide a “loving, welcoming” atmosphere, and she is happy to be a part of that.
Cache Lane: “One of the greatest experiences of my life.”
Now president of the Parent Board, Cache Lane has deep connections to SCSL. She and her older brother attended the school, and she went to Fenwick on a full scholarship, graduating in 2014, and then on to the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Now that she has a daughter in PK-4 and a sister in seventh grade, she wanted to support the school in a concrete way, so she joined the Parent Board.
Her mother enrolled her and her brother at SCSL because it offered before- and after-school care, allowing her mother to work. When her mother was diagnosed with lupus, the school helped them stay there. For some years afterward, both her mother and her grandmother volunteered at the school.
Lane says SCSL “was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” noting that it opened a lot of avenues. She credits Sharon Leamy, who was her sixth-grade teacher, as “the primary reason I went to Fenwick,” adding, “She is a gem.”
Lane wanted to give back by helping prep the seventh- and eighth-grade students for high school and applying for scholarships. “They are such good kids,” she says. “I try to empower and encourage students and let them know the sky is not the limit!”
The Parent Board runs two fundraisers a year as well as social events and school parties. Lane’s goal with the board is getting the parents connected with the school, which she notes is challenging, but she’s optimistic. Ultimately, the purpose of the board, she says, is to raise funds for the school, enhance the school’s profile, and increase enrollment.
“The school continues to thrive and I am willing to be part of that great legacy.”
For more information about St. Catherine-St. Lucy School, go to their website here.