May 22, 2009
Catholic school opening in Jasper for 2009-2010 school year
Elizabeth Flatt is the principal of John Paul the Great High School which will open its doors in Jasper in August. Click for a larger version.
By MARY ANN HUGHES (Message staff writer)
It’s taken 10 years – from the early discussion stage back in 1999 through years of planning and preparation — and this August the doors will finally open at John Paul the Great High School in Jasper. There may be as many as 15 students filling the freshman and sophomore classes.
Elizabeth (Gramelspacher) Flatt was hired a year ago as the school’s principal. She’s a native of Jasper who received her bachelor’s degree in physical education from Ball State University, and her master’s degree from Oakland City University.
The idea for a Catholic high school in Jasper developed out of town hall meetings back in 1999. A committee was formed to look at curriculum, interest and feasibility. “Then they took a break, and put it in God’s hands,” Flatt said.
Dr. J.R. and Rose Hoffman were members of that committee. Rose remembers attending the town hall meetings, along with about 200 other interested people. In those early days, “we did a ton of work,” looking at how other Catholic schools were being founded.
For nearly four years, there were monthly meetings. Then nearly every committee member experienced a “family crisis, and we paused for a while.”
They reconnected because of so many comments from people in the area. “Someone at the ball field said, ‘What happened to that?’ and J.R. heard all the time in his office, ‘I would have sent my child there.’”
Flatt was working on her master’s in administration when she heard about the plans. She was drawn to the opportunity of “being able to take faith and put it into academics,” so she “went to the website, and said I was interested.”
She was hired in August of 2008 “to get things going,” and since that time she has worked as a principal without students, parents or faculty members. “It’s been an awesome adventure and learning experience.”
The first thing she did was meet with all the priests in the Jasper Deanery “to get their thoughts.” She also visited a number of Catholic schools in Illinois and Indiana, put a curriculum together, and started working on enrollment.
She also worked on a capital campaign, which to date has raised $500,000 in three-year pledges.
The work has been challenging, and she has missed having daily contact with students. “That’s what I love,” she said. Organizing a school from the ground up has meant “taking itty bitty pieces and making it all work. We want it to start on the right foot. We will have students, and it has to be right.”
The response from the Dubois County community has been mixed. “They see it as positive,” she said, but many are waiting “until we are up and running.”
The name of the high school, John Paul the Great, had already been chosen by the time Flatt was hired. It was chosen because of the late pope’s “work with evangelization and the youth. Our board felt he was a great example.”
The high school will be housed on the third floor of the newly-renovated parish center at St. Joseph Church in Jasper. There will be three or four classrooms, and the students will have access to the gym, chapel and chorus room in that facility.
The decision was made to lease space from St. Joe’s “because the facility is perfect,” Rose said. She served on the education commission there for three years, and was very aware of the facility and its usage. “It’s heavily used on Wednesday nights for religious education.” Leasing instead of building, she believes, is financially responsible. She added that Father Ray Brenner, St. Joseph’s pastor, has been “nothing but supportive.”
At this time, in mid-May, eight students are enrolled for both the freshman and sophomore classes. They are coming from Holy Family School in Jasper, from other schools in Dubois County, and from St. Meinrad and Loogootee. Flatt expects the rolls to grow over the summer, with perhaps as many as 15 students enrolled in the two grades by August.
There will be a staff of eight, and all of the teachers will be part time.
The curriculum will include Theology 9 and 10, biology, chemistry, algebra I, geometry, English 9 and 10, Spanish I and II, choir with a focus on sacred music, physical education, health, world history, and introduction to careers. Science labs are “being established” in one of the classrooms.
The tuition is $5,000 a year, and tuition assistance is available from donations. The school is an independent Catholic High School, and parishes in the Jasper Deanery will not be required to make assessment payments for the school.
At this time, there are no plans for team sports, partly because of the size of the student population. Flatt said students would have the opportunity to participate in individual sports such as cross country, track, swimming, diving, golf and wrestling.
“We want to offer extracurricular activities and clubs if the students want them,” she said.
The students will attend Mass every other day at St. Joseph Church, and once a month and on holy days there will be an all-school Mass in the chapel.
The Hoffman’s daughter, Honor, will be a member of the freshman class this fall. Rose believes Honor will find an environment where “she can live her faith every day,” while receiving “an excellent education, a personalized education that will prepare her for college.”
Joseph Munning attended Precious Blood School in Jasper, and currently is a freshman at Jasper High School. He made the decision to enroll in the new high school because “I loved my Catholic education, going to church during the week.” He added, “I’d like to be a theologian.”
As she continues to prepare the school for its first days in August, Flatt says, “It’s challenging. It’s very rewarding. It’s not just a job, but a vocation. It’s a lot of work, but it’s all starting to come together.”
For additional information, contact Elizabeth at elizabethflatt@jpghs.org or (812) 634-5742.