MERRILLVILLE – Just as staff, students and parents of Aquinas Catholic Community School have come together to form a community, the two buildings that serve the Diocese of Gary school have been connected by a new $3M addition that presents a strong and unified facade worthy of the scholars who study inside.
A ribbon cutting celebrating the completion of the addition held June 12 featured a bit of history, a lot of thank you’s and plenty of praise for the efforts that went into the project.
“I am so grateful for all those who have been a part of this accomplishment,” said Bishop Robert J. McClory, praising the school for “a commitment of service to provide a beautiful education” for the students, known at Aquinas as scholars, “and a means of sharing the Good News that Christ is alive.”
He acknowledged outgoing diocesan schools superintendent Dr. Joseph Majchrowicz and incoming superintendent Colleen Brewer, Aquinas principal Lisa Gutierrez, Holy Martyrs Parish pastor Father Ted Mauch, Beth and (the late) Bruce White of the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation and Big Shoulders Fund.
Quoting from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5), the bishop read a passage regarding the Beatitudes, noting that Aquinas school has “an outstanding academic curriculum, as well as producing children who can exemplify these virtues. We know you are the teacher, Lord, and this new expansion I hereby dedicate to you, that (the students) would know you more deeply. Bless this new building and those who walk through it.”
Gutierrez called the completion of the 5,500-square-foot addition to the 9,400-square-foot school, which includes two classrooms, a complete office suite and reception area, a nurse’s office, Title I reading resource room, teacher lounge, connecting hallways, technology and file rooms, “truly a joyous, momentous occasion.”
“We researched the history of the school, started by the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Help, and found out that they had to bring in portable classrooms the first year due to the enrollment, but no more,” Gutierrez explained. “We are (now) able to serve 10 grades in a beautiful building and we don’t have to go outside to get around the school. We will be safer and more secure than we have ever been.”
Gutierrez said Aquinas teachers always assure ‘the scholars that (they) are loved and (they) are cared for, but as optimistic as I am … I couldn’t have imagined this.
“Beth (White), what you and Bruce (who passed away in January) saw in us, you are an answer to a prayer, and I thank you for really seeing us,” she added of the couple who first visited Aquinas more than four years ago and later committed $1.25M to the school expansion.
“How exciting and special it is to be here today,” White responded, praising the leadership, staff and scholars for their “strong sense of community.” With the support of Big Shoulders Fund and the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation, Aquinas delivered meals to students during the pandemic, added the National School Lunch Program, and established a social/emotional counseling program, White noted. “A building is just a building; it’s what’s inside that makes a difference. We wish you a huge congratulations and hope you and your community continue to thrive, excel and grow.”
Bruce White, founder and chairman of Merrillville’s White Lodging, and his wife Beth first funded the expansion of Big Shoulders Fund from the Archdiocese of Chicago schools to the Diocese of Gary in 2019 through a $16M gift pledged over 10 years.
In the intervening years, Aquinas school enrollment has risen 37%, with grade levels boasting up to 25 students. Helping increase student numbers to more than 200 is an expansion of the Indiana CHOICE Scholarship Program, which funds tuition for all but the most wealthy families.
Bill Hanna, executive director of the foundation, said once Bruce and Beth White visited Aquinas and saw the needs, “We talked, discussed and with Bruce’s vision, we decided we should go bigger,” making the extra financial commitment for the building addition.
“Be a leader, be a learner and be a friend,” Hanna advised the Aquinas students. “If you can do that, you will build a stronger community and a stronger country, and make a difference in the world.”
Josh Hale, president and CEO of Big Shoulders Fund, said the White family and the Diocese of Gary “bring a sense of hope. Cutting a ribbon is like (opening) a gift, a start of something … but you have to spend time thinking of how to make that gift just right. Lisa Gutierrez came here (six years ago) and saw a school that had great potential and she got to work.
“Aquinas School is a critical community-based organization, and the people in this community said ‘we need more seats for our children,’ and that need has been met … through the visionary leadership and generosity” of Bruce and Beth White.
Sheree Evans, of Merrillville, has a seventh-grader, Nicolas, and a first-grader, Ethan, attending Aquinas “for the quality, Catholic education. I went to Catholic school, Holy Angels in Gary, and the education I got helps when life starts taking its toll. I had the background of knowing Jesus, and I wanted that for my children. It added to my life, and I want my children to be somewhere safe. The staff has embraced me and my children.”
“I like the new entrance with the spotlight,” added Ethan Evans.
It’s easy to guess what part of the new addition Marquyta Maldonado, R.N., likes best. The Aquinas school nurse for four years, she kept watch at the entrance to her new office, which replaces a tiny, out-of-the-way storage room. “It’s beautiful, with room for all of my equipment,” she said of her new quarters just off the main hallway, already filled with cheerful décor.
The new addition was so important that two ribbon cutting ceremonies were held. After Gutierrez did the honors with a line-up of dignitaries, Aquinas scholars were invited to participate in their own ceremony with newly-minted eighth-grade graduate Sam Gibson handling the scissors.
“It was challenging at times,” Gibson, of Merrillville, said of a full year of learning with construction dust and hammering as a constant companion, but credited “perseverance and strength” with surviving the experience.
“I’m so proud of Mrs. Gutierrez and the entire school,” added the Andrean High School-bound scholar. “She’s done a lot for this school, and it shows.”