Our Lady School
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Lady School is going to be a “Classical Liberal Arts School.” What does that
mean exactly? Classical liberal arts education is geared toward the pursuit of two
goals: wisdom and virtue. It inspires students to contemplate all that is true, good,
and beautiful, and to apply those lessons to their lives. It seeks for academic
excellence, while avoiding an educational process which presents unrelated
information and which may overemphasize grades and test scores. To this end,
teachers at Our Lady School will incorporate, for example, an integrated approach to
education. In other words, instead of a stratification of subjects, teachers will
incorporate many disciplines into single lessons. This also has the great benefit of
being able to incorporate the Catholic faith more easily into every lesson. Also,
although textbooks will be used when necessary, a preference for using primary
texts over textbooks will be utilized.
Will Our Lady School be using Common Core? Our Lady School will not be using
anything affiliated with Common Core.
Is Our Lady School independent from the Diocese? No, Our Lady School is a
regular parish grade school and will be following all diocesan norms regarding
schools.
Will the Our Lady School students be taking the ISTEP test? Yes, all students in
the State of Indiana are required by law to participate in ISTEP testing.
Will Our Lady School really be ready to open in Fall of 2016? Yes! Everything is
well underway to ensure that the school will be ready to open in Fall of 2016.
Renovations to the building are being completed, proper inspections are being
sought, State accreditation is being properly pursued through the Diocese, a school
number will soon be acquired from the State, and the school will become eligible to
be a Choice Scholarship School.
What were the preregistration numbers? 160 students pregistered for the
school.
How many students will the school hold? The maximum number for the school
will be around 160 students. This will vary depending on the size of specific classes.
Does preregistration guarantee my children a spot in the school? No,
preregistration was done as a courtesy to parents to allow us to gather financial
information from families so that we can help determine how tuition will be best
handled for that family (vouchers, financial aid, etc). Preregistration was also done
as a help to the school to better anticipate numbers of families who most likely will
send their children to the school, numbers of students in each class, etc.
When can I guarantee my children a spot in the school? Through the normal
registration process (which will take place in January), spots in the school will be
secured.
What if there are more children who wish to have spots in the school than the
number of spots available? Like all other schools in our diocese, Our Lady School
will have an admissions policy by which admission to the school will be regulated
when there are more children than spots available. That policy will be as follows:
“In the event there are more children registered than can be admitted after
the early registration deadline, children will be admitted to OL School based
on the following preference categories:
A) Siblings of Catholic students currently enrolled at OLS (living within the
parish boundaries) AND siblings of Catholic students currently enrolled at
OLS (living outside of the parish boundaries but who are active at OLGH*)
B) Children of Catholic families who live in the parish boundaries AND
children of Catholic families who live outside the parish boundaries but are
active at OLGH* for over a year prior to the annual registration deadline.
C) Children of Catholic families who live outside the parish but are active at
OLGH* for less than a year prior to the annual registration deadline.
D) Children of Catholic families from other parishes
E) Children of non-Catholic families.
If there are available spots after the early registration deadline, rolling
admission will take place.
*the Pastor shall make the determination as to whether the family can be
considered ‘active’”
Please note that category “A” will not be used for the inaugural year as it would not
apply. If after applying the admission policy categories, there are still too many
children for particular spots, a lottery system will be utilized.
What will the tuition be for Our Lady School? For the first child in a family,
tuition is $5400. Second child is $5300. Third child is $5200. Fourth child is $5100.
Fifth child is $5000. For those who are eligible, State Vouchers and SGO
scholarships can be applied. Financial assistance will also to available from the
parish. Using all the financial resources available, our goal is to make tuition
affordable for every family.
What is happening in the school building currently? Currently some renovation
and improvements are happening in the school to prepare for our Fall 2016
opening. New flooring is being installed in almost the entirety of the school space. A
few walls are being moved in order to gain the proper classroom size. The entire
school area is being painted. A new secure interior entrance is being added. New
outside doors and windows are being added to comply with Homeland Security
requirements. A new science lab is being added as well as computer system wiring
throughout the school.
How is all this being funded? All startup costs, including building renovations, are
being funded by donations from private individuals and from private foundations.
Special thanks go to the Mary Cross Tippmann Foundation for their generosity to
Our Lady School. No parish money and no New Church Building Project funds are
being used for startup costs. Private donations to help with start up costs are still
welcome.
Have teachers been hired yet? No teachers have been hired yet, but that process
will begin shortly.
What will be the school schedule? That has not yet been determined. However,
the schedule will be coordinated with the Bishop Dwenger start and end times so
that parents who have children in both schools can easily manage drop-off and pickup for both.
Will the children attend Mass every day? All students will attend the regular
parish daily Mass from 9 a.m. – 9:25 a.m., 4 days a week.
Will the children go to Confession regularly? Students who have already made
their first confession will be given the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of
Confession at least once a month.
Is there a School Board yet? Yes, a preliminary school board has been chosen by
Father Mark. Once the school is running, a school board will be selected according
to diocesan norms.
How will Our Lady School participate in sports? Except for football, Our Lady
School will be fielding its own teams and competing in the Fort Wayne area CYO.
The sports offered will be: Soccer (boys and girls), Basketball (boys and girls),
Track (boys and girls), Cross Country (boys and girls), Volleyball (girls only).
(If the pastor gets the gumption, we may even field a golf team). For football, the
CYO will assign us to participate with another school each year according to what is
needed to complete football teams across the CYO system.
How can I currently get involved in Our Lady School? Hold tight. There will
many opportunities for parents and for friends of the school to become involved in
the daily working of the school including through Home and School Association
(HASA), volunteer coaching, SCRIP, school board committees, etc. We especially
welcome parental involvement and input in the life of the school.