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MOTHER OF GOD SCHOOL MISSION STATEMENT A SHORT HISTORY OF MOTHER OF GOD SCHOOL For many years before the Mother of God School opened in September 1987, parents in Mother of God Community dreamed of a school for their children. As more couples with elementary school aged children joined the community, they began to share with one another their dream of a Catholic/Christian education and environment for the children in the upper-Montgomery County area. Despite the formation of numerous parishes in the area, no new Catholic grade school had opened in the archdiocese since the mid-1960s in Rockville. St. Martin’s School in Gaithersburg was filled to capacity. At a meeting to discuss the issue in the spring of 1987, the consensus was that the parents were ready to open the school--that fall! A committee formed to discuss what would be needed and to begin planning. One committee member attended the National Catholic Education Association convention in New York to survey book vendors and get an idea of textbook costs. Others met with officials from the Maryland State Department of Education to determine state requirements for private schools, and found that they were surprisingly few. Others looked at the need for faculty and facilities. Staffing the school was not considered a problem, because a number of community members were teaching at the time, or were looking to re-enter the teaching profession and expressed interest in teaching at the school. They did face the problem of finding a facility to house the school until property could be purchased and a school built. Before long, a search found a surplus public school building available in Rockville, a 12-mile drive from Montgomery Village. Parents said they would be willing to make this drive until a school could be built, which they did for two years. With Miss Angela Burrin, who served as Principal for nine years, the school opened in Rockville with grades 1-6. A separate kindergarten opened in Germantown in rented church facilities. The faculty included some outstanding teachers with long time experience in public and private schools, as well as newer and less experienced teachers. A grade was added each year for the next six years until the school served students from Kindergarten through 12th grade. By agreement with the Archdiocese of Washington, which was planning to open an inter-parish school in Darnestown, MD, the school served only children of members of Mother of God community. The school remained small, with the highest enrollment around 160 students. One result of the small size of the school was a family atmosphere and great school spirit. With the changes in Mother of God community in 1995 and 1996, the number of community students attending the school dropped considerably. As a result, in 1996, the school eliminated the high school to focus entirely on grades K-8. At that time, the school asked to afiliate with the schools of the Archdiocese of Washington. Archdiocesan officials visited the school in late spring of 1996, and finding a solid academic and spiritual program, invited Mother of God School to affiliate. With this achieved, it became possible to invite children of parents who were not community members to attend the school. Enrollment gradually increased from approximately 100 students to just less than 250. Miss Melissa Warning joined the school as Principal in 1996, serving for two years. She successfully steered the school in its new direction, putting great stress on reading and language arts. She was followed for two years by Sr. Sharon Mimh, who helped the school update its computer resources and strengthen the use of technology. Mrs. Ann Jurkowski became Principal in 2000, and is now in her fourth year. She has worked for excellence in academics and in incorporating the school vision across the curriculum. Over the years, parents of school children have delighted in the impact of the school on their children. They saw the beautiful art projects encouraged by our art teacher, and took pleasure in the vocal and band concerts directed by several talented instructors. Through CYO competitions, parents watched their children gain athletic skills and grow in the ability to lose and win gracefully. They saw their children excel academically and move on well prepared for study in both public and Catholic high schools. They also took pleasure as they saw their children blossom spiritually as they responded to God’s love for them mediated through a loving school atmosphere. From the first years of the establishment of Mother of God School, various members of the organizing committee, principals, faculty members, and community members dreamed of the day when the school would seek accreditation by the Middle States Association as a sign of their desire that the school become the quality institution they wanted it to be. They waited patiently for the time to begin the process, and have worked diligently to reach this point. We rejoice that we have come this far and anticipate the years ahead as the school continues to provide a quality Catholic education to its students enabling them to fully use their gifts and talents as they bear witness to the light of Christ in all they do. This history was prepared for the Middle States Association evaluation in November 2003. |
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Main Number: (301) 990-2088 |
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