CHICAGO (September 4, 2002)

A new Archdiocese of Chicago elementary school is open at Immaculate Conception parish on the far southeast side of Chicago to serve Hispanic children of the community.

Dr. Nicholas Wolsonovich, superintendent of schools, visited the newly opened school in the heart of South Chicago at 8739 South Exchange Avenue today. "The renewal of this school, which once educated the sons and daughters of working class immigrant Polish and eastern European families, is a fine example of how Archdiocese of Chicago schools are adapting to meet the changing needs of our community," he said.

Immaculate Conception school has 128 students enrolled in kindergarten through fourth grade. Over the next four years, school administrators plan to add one grade each year through eighth and then consider multiple classes of certain grades if there is a demand.

"We're actually filled to our present capacity," said Sister Judine Hilbing, O.P., principal. Sister Judine, who is also principal of St. Michael Catholic School at 8337 South Shore Drive, the parish immediately north of Immaculate Conception, established the new school's curriculum and policies.

"This development here in South Chicago is good news for the whole Catholic school system," said Dr. Wolsonovich. "Immaculate Conception is one of four new Archdiocese of Chicago schools to open this fall - three in Chicago and one in northwest suburban Inverness," he said.

The faculty at Immaculate Conception School are members of the Daughters of Immaculate Mary of Guadalupe, a 650- member, 100-year-old religious congregation. The sisters came from Monterey, Mexico, three years ago at the invitation of Rev. Michael P. Enright, the parish's pastor.

"We serve more than 800 families in this parish. On any given Sunday, more than 1,100 people attend our four liturgies. But, I could see that we were really beginning to lose our kids to street gangs, crime and drugs. I wanted to help our young people preserve their faith and get a start so they might become someone. So, I decided we needed to reopen our school," Father Enright explained.

"But, because most of our people are severely economically disadvantaged, we needed to do it at the lowest possible cost," he added.

Father Enright traveled to Mexico and convinced the religious community, which operates 52 schools throughout Latin America, to send eight nuns to reopen Immaculate Conception and to serve the first and second generation working class families of Mexican heritage who comprise the parish.

Sister Maria de Jesus Nuñez, HIMG, is the school's first administrator. She is an experienced educator who holds a master's degree in pre- school education, has taken post-graduate courses and has a degree in catechetics. Sister Maria Ocampo, HIMG, first grade teacher, has a master's degree in primary education as well as a degree in catechetics. Other members of the faculty are equally qualified with similar credentials.

"Our prayer is that the children of this neighborhood will be nourished in their faith, succeed in school and be prepared for life. Our plan is to grow this new school, one grade a year," Sister Maria said.

"While English is the official language at Immaculate Conception, students hear Spanish spoken every day by our faculty and staff," explained Sister Judine. "Hispanic culture, customs and Catholic faith traditions are integrated into our curriculum every hour of the school day," she said.

"When the younger children come to us, they're not very fluent in English, because Spanish is the primary language at home. So, we teach them English while preserving their literacy in Spanish and familiarity with Hispanic culture," Sister Judine noted.

"In first and second grade," Sister Judine continued, " all instruction, except for religion, is conducted in English. Casual conversation is often a bit of both languages, and our kindergarten students hear both languages. Once our students reach the third grade, however, there's a concerted effort made to teach both reading and writing skills in English and in Spanish to help them achieve literacy in both languages. We purposely hired a third grade teacher who speaks no Spanish."

According to Sister Judine, the primary mission at Immaculate Conception is to minister to the parish Hispanic community. Students are expected to read and write well in both English and Spanish by their graduation.

The school occupies the first floor of the three-story building. The upper floors contain space for art, music and dance programs. A lunchroom is in the basement and physical education classes are taught in the parish social hall.

"A new computer lab on the second floor will soon be wired to the Internet," Sister Judine stated.

The actual cost of educating one student for a year at Immaculate Conception is $3,200, but because more than three-quarters of the parishioners are economically disadvantaged, families pay only $150 a year for each student. The balance of the cost of education comes from the contributed services of the sisters who take virtually no salary together with parish contributions and Archdiocesan grants.

Immaculate Conception parish, Father Enright explained, was established in 1882, when thirty immigrant Polish families formed the St. Vincent's Benevolent Society. The group wanted to organize a parish that would have both a church and a school. Immaculate Conception's first school was built shortly after that and the present school building was opened in 1901.

Initially, Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word from Houston, Texas, taught at Immaculate Conception. They were succeeded by the School Sisters of St. Francis, who in 1907 merged with the newly formed Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, a Polish community of religious women.

"For years, the parish and school served generations of working class Polish and eastern European immigrants who labored in the nearby steel mills. By 1890, the parish numbered more than 1,100 families," Father Enright said.

President William H. Taft visited Immaculate Conception School on March 10, 1912 and addressed a crowd of 10,000 people from the school steps.

As more immigrant people arrived in South Chicago to work in the mills and on the railroads, the Archdiocese of Chicago divided Immaculate Conception parish to form three new parishes - St. Michael at 83rd and South Shore Drive; St. Mary Magdalene at 84th and South Marquette Avenue; and St. Bronislava at 87th and South Colfax Avenue.

Immaculate Conception school was closed more than 15 years ago and leased to the Chicago public school system. Three years ago, when the first two nuns arrived from Mexico, Immaculate Conception reclaimed some space in the building and opened one grade each year. With the completion of renovations at local public schools, the parish has reclaimed the entire building and established a new Immaculate Conception School whose motto is "courage and confidence."

"The Office of Catholic Schools has a very strong commitment to the education of young people of Hispanic heritage," Dr. Wolsonovich said.

"Throughout the Archdiocese there are numerous examples of strong elementary and secondary schools which preserve Hispanic culture, tradition and language, while ensuring that our graduates will enter society well equipped for the realities of today's world," he said.

Today, approximately 16,000 elementary students of Hispanic background are enrolled in Archdiocese of Chicago schools. They represent 17 percent of the total enrollment. Another 5,400 students of Hispanic heritage, or 18 percent of the total enrollment, attend Catholic secondary schools.

There are 42 Catholic elementary schools with 50 percent or more of their student body of Hispanic background and six high schools with the same composition.

The Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago play a critical role in the life of the community by developing the minds and spirits of nearly 123,000 students of many races, faiths and backgrounds in the 290 elementary and secondary schools in Cook and Lake counties. There are more than 6,000 teachers in the Catholic school system who instill values, teach discipline and achieve strong, consistent academic results in the Archdiocese of Chicago's 248 elementary and 42 secondary schools. For more information, visit the Archdiocese of Chicago Website at
http://schools.archchicago.org