History

St. Cecilia School first opened its doors on September 7, 1925, when an estimated forty-five students entered first through seventh grades. The longtime pastor (1917-1940) of St. Cecilia Church, Father Joseph Campbell, overcame adversity to supervise the construction of the first and only Catholic school in Story County, which was built on the parish campus at 122 Oak Street at an initial cost of $30,000.  The original building consisted of six classrooms and a small gymnasium.  The school was remodeled and expanded in 1960, during the pastorate of Father John Ryan, to add four additional classrooms, an audio-visual room, a teachers’ lounge, a larger gymnasium and school lunch facilities at a cost of $285,000.  A hot lunch program was inaugurated in 1961.

Sister Mary Leonard Burke, RSM served as the first principal.  Two other Sisters of Mercy from Cedar Rapids assisted her during the first year of the school.  Sister Mary Florence Kobbe taught third, fourth, and fifth grades, and Sister Mary Virginia Patrick taught the first and second grades and music.  After one year the eighth grade was added with Sister Mary Muriel Sullivan as teacher.  In 1927, Sister Mary Gabriel Mahoney came to St. Cecilia as full-time music instructor.  At the end of the third year, the first enrollment had more than doubled.

Miss Theresa DeMeulenare came in 1941 and taught the third and fourth grades until 1945, when she left to enter the Maryknoll Sisters.  Since 1947, St. Cecilia School has had lay teachers on its faculty.  Eventually, ninety-five Sisters of Mercy would serve St. Cecilia School for a total of 295 years of service, culminating with the departure of Sister Marilyn Whitty as principal in 1991, the last Sister of Mercy at the school.

A language program under the direction of Dr. Cecil D. McVicker, head of the Modern Language Department of Iowa State University, began in 1959.  Students in eighth grade were taught French, while students in grades six and seven studied Spanish.  The Great Books Program was initiated in grades seven and eight in 1961.  Registered nurses of the parish were in charge of nursing services for the students of St. Cecilia School.

The school enrollment peaked in 1964 with 315 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.  In 1965, six Sisters and three lay teachers instructed the 297 students attending the school.  Eventually the kindergarten program was dropped due to space limitations, but shortly after the seventh and eighth grade classes were dropped in 1970-71, the kindergarten program was reinstated in 1974.

In 1972, St. Cecilia Church was demolished at the downtown campus and a new church was built at 2900 Hoover Avenue in north central Ames.  After more than twenty years of having a split campus, plans were drawn to build a new education center on the grounds adjacent to the church on Hoover Avenue.  During the pastorate of Father Dismas Veeneman, OFM Conventual, the plans progressed, leading to a new education center with nine classrooms, a gymnasium, a kitchen, a library/media center, offices for the administration of the school and religious education programs, and a seventy seat chapel.  The new building was completed in 1995 and was connected to the church and social hall by a hallway to the parish offices and narthex.  The former school building was sold to the Iowa Department of Transportation for renovation into offices.

The dedication of the new education center took placed on August 27, 1995, by Archbishop Daniel Kucera, OSB.  The principal of the schoolduring the building and moving process was Mrs. Loretta Tracy.  The pastor at the time of the dedication was Father Edmund Goldbach, OFM Conventual, with Father Terry Rassmussen, OFM Conventual, succeeding him as pastor in 1996.

During the 2020-2021 school year, St. Cecilia School celebrates its ninety-fifth year of Catholic education.  St. Cecilia School continues to provide a multi-faceted faith based educational experience for its students.  The curriculum today includes the core subjects, as well as opportunities for religion, computer classes, library/media instruction, physical education, vocal and instrumental music, art instruction, enrichment classes, a school counselor, and teacher associates in all grades.