K‑8 Catholic Education Evolves With Changing Times

An immigration story is coming full circle in New Haven’s Catholic elementary school classrooms.

By the mid-20th century, when (future priest) Gerard Schmitz attended St. Francis on Ferry Street in Fair Haven, New Haven teemed with Catholic elementary schools. The number of Catholic schools had grown from 1 in 1863 (St. Patrick) to 17. The schools anchored neighborhoods — and reflected the ethnicities of each neighborhood’s immigrant enclaves.

French Canadians, for instance, attended St. Louis School; Italian-Americans from the Naples region went to St. Anthony’s on Gold Street, while Amalfitanos were more likely found at St. Michael’s in Wooster Square. Irish-Americans, German-Americans, Polish-Americans were more represented in other schools, which had as many as two full classrooms each per grade.

By the turn of the century, those neighborhoods had evolved, and earlier waves of immigrants were more assimilated into society. Meanwhile, reflecting a national trend, parochial school attendance plummeted in New Haven. One by one, into the 2020s, the schools closed.

Then the community regrouped, and combined remaining schools into one central school — back where Father Schmitz attended classes on Ferry Street, now rechristened All Saints Catholic Academy.

The K‑8 school is busy, bringing Catholic education into a new era. And immigration is once again helping drive its renaissance: The 148-member student body is diverse, including many Catholic immigrants, this time from nations like Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Mexico. The above photo shows a mural at the school of students’ native flags.

Schmitz and fellow Catholic school grad Bill O’Brien, who rode the trolley from Cedar Hill to St. Boniface School in the 1940s, looked back on those years in a conversation on WNHH FM’s ​“Dateline New Haven.” They were joined by Sister Cathy Phillips, development director at All Saints Catholic.

The spark for the discussion was two-fold: An upcoming reunion for friends and alumni of New Haven Catholic elementary schools taking place at Anthony’s Ocean View on May 21 starting at noon, following a 10:30 a.m. mass at St. Bernadette Church; and to get the word out about the renewed energy and dedication to faith-based education taking place at All Saints.

“Faith isn’t just when we’re going to mass,” Sister Cathy said. ​“It’s how we treat one another. It’s how we learn what’s going on in the world and how we respond to that.”

Click on the above video to watch the full discussion about New Haven Catholic education past, present and future on WNHH FM’s ​“Dateline New Haven.” Click here to subscribe or here to listen to other episodes of ​“Dateline.” Click here for more information about All Saints Catholic Academy and here for more information about the May 21 alumni brunch. Click here to read an article about All Saints by the New Haven Register’s Mary O’Leary.