This article was contributed by Dana F. Forsythe, CFRE, Director of Development at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church.
St. Paul School in Westerville, Ohio is a Roman Catholic community dedicated to teaching, living and learning in the light of Christ. We foster the development of the Roman Catholic faith by encompassing instruction, prayer, religious experiences, and service. As the largest elementary school in the Diocese of Columbus we provide a Catholic education to 815 students which represent kindergarten thought 8th grade and have been recognized nationally as a blue ribbon school.
Father Charles Klinger, our pastor since 2003, with the assistance of several parish priests, is actively involved in the lives of our students, providing opportunities to attend liturgy on a regular basis and making themselves available for classroom instruction. Students and families regularly engage in community service projects as extensions of grade-level reflections and studies. Area community organizations benefiting from St. Paul student service projects include St. Paul Parish senior citizens, the Manor Care Nursing Home, Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs, St. Lawrence Haven lunch program, Holy Rosary St. John, Birthright of Columbus, and the Westerville Area Resource Ministry.
Each St. Paul School student is a valued person with unique physical, social, emotional and intellectual needs.
Our principal, Dr. Kathleen Norris, and Dean of Students, Mr. Deke Hocker, oversee an academic team of 37 fully accredited teaching professionals, committed to providing our community of more than 815 young learners a superior academic experience. Complementing classroom instruction is a dedicated group of 16 paraprofessionals and 8 Westerville City School auxiliary personnel, who serve St. Paul School as school nurse, guidance counselor, psychologists, reading tutors, speech pathologist, and special needs intervention specialist. An after-school care program provides a safe and happy environment after school hours for children in grades kindergarten through 6.
St. Paul School provides direction in helping students become confident, self-directed, lifelong learners.
In addition to classroom experiences in Art, Music, Technology, Library and Physical Education, interested students have opportunities to participate in Power of the Pen, Science Fair, the newspaper staff, band, choir, a comprehensive Diocesan athletic program, and scouting. Every student in grades 3 through 8 complete the Terra Nova Test, used to track student progress, to evaluate and assess instructional content areas, and to ultimately improve students’ future academic performance. By nearly any measure, St. Paul School students annually outperform local and national test averages. The majority of our graduates attend Catholic high schools, including St. Francis DeSales and St. Charles Preparatory.
St. Paul promotes a safe, healthy, respectful and positive environment.
Founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1961, the school has witnessed several expansions, including the addition of new classrooms, a fully-equipped science lab, and a recently-constructed second gymnasium. Students, staff and teachers have Internet and network access to a wireless school campus that utilizes laptops, a 36-station computer lab and interactive SMART boards in every classroom to enhance instructional and individual learning opportunities. The media center provides a full range of educational titles and resources, with a book collection that exceeds 18,000 titles, complemented by a daily Westerville Public Library delivery service. Freshly prepared and nutritionally sound lunches are prepared daily in our full-service cafeteria.
Teachers, administrators, parents and students share the responsibility for student learning and for advancing the mission of St. Paul School.
Dedicated parents, with the support of the faculty and staff, are actively engaged in the education of our K – 8 community of children through their volunteer efforts in various advisory and staff-support roles. The School Advisory Board, the Parent Activity Club and the Parish Athletic Association are organizations comprised of parents who desire to help students, teachers, and parents in our shared mission to educate the whole child.
