Community says goodbye to St. James Institute

For St. James Institute principal Christopher Bott, "today is what matters."

For now, the Albany elementary school, which is closing this month after 79 years due to declining enrollment, still resounds with the sounds of children. Mr. Bott is proud of that: Even though "we're at the end," he said, "it is important to me that our standards are the same."

Closing St. James "is a decision that had to be made," said the principal, who was involved in a planning process stretching back to 2004.

Yet, when the announcement was made in January, feelings ran the gamut from anger to acceptance. "Many in our community looked at this as a death. There was a mourning period. We, as the employees in the school, felt responsible to help people through that process."

Mutual support

Faculty and staff at St. James were encouraged to discuss their feelings at meetings and a retreat. Since that time, the staff has grown closer to one another.

Mr. Bott asked the teachers "to work just as hard as if the school's not closing, and they're doing it. It's something I admire, and I hope we can continue our efforts to help them find positions for next year."

St. James' history is one of change. The school opened in 1926, moving to a new building in 1958. A gym/auditorium was added in 1974.

When Sister Mary Barbara Vennard, CSJ, began to teach second grade at St. James 27 years ago, most of her students were Caucasian. They were jammed 30 to a room, with two rooms per grade, and all had Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as instructors. Since the school had no cafeteria at the time, students went home for lunch.

Times of change

Over the years, as Sister Mary Barbara moved into administration, she watched many families move into the suburbs. Hispanic and African-American families came to the neighborhood and enrolled at St. James; scholarship programs and instruction in Spanish were instituted. Lay teachers began to replace retiring sisters.

What didn't change, she said, was the excitement of the children.

"Through the school, the parish began to know the poverty of the children, and St. James started programs for the neighborhood," said Sister Mary Barbara. "There was a very good spirit here; everybody worked together. I enjoyed the children so much. They keep you young."

After her retirement two years ago, Sister Mary Barbara was put in charge of sorting the archives stored in the school's library: yearbooks, yellowing newspaper clippings and photographs of eighth-graders in suits and graduation dresses.

Retired third-grade teacher Marjorie Hepp, who graduated from St. James in 1947, works at the parish food pantry. She stopped by the library on a recent afternoon to reminisce.

"The sisters gave a great deal of their lives to this place," she said.

Catholic mission

Today, few of the students at St. James are Catholic. Nevertheless, Mr. Bott said that one of the school's proudest accomplishments was doing "an excellent job of accommodating student needs and fulfilling our mission" as a Catholic school.

Teachers like Tracy Van Hattum used the word "family" to describe their experience at St. James. She teaches pre-Kindergarten there; her father served for many years as the school's sports director; she and her sisters attended St. James.

"It's hard to say goodbye," she remarked. "You become so close. I'm still friends with the girl I met in pre-K. This school has changed an awful lot since I was here: There's less children, but more diversity."

Pre-K teacher Cynthia Notaro's classroom is filled with toys and resources. It's difficult to pack up, she said: "It kills me to leave the [three-year-olds]. Being teachers, we have to watch them step up and move on -- and we will do the same. I hope they step [toward] someone who loves them, hugs them and gives them encouragement."

Saying goodbye

"I'm sad for the children that go here, and sad for the families," said kindergarten teacher Tara Laurange. "You take it day by day, because the children need to feel that everything is safe. You remember the reason you're here, and you give the best of yourself."

Mary Nicholson, the parish's youth minister and faith formation director, has an office at the school. Three of her six children were educated at St. James.

"There's a spirit in St. James," she said; and students "will take that spirit with them. A school can't run with the amount of kids we have here, but it's extremely sad to watch it go.

"I saw this place make a big difference in their lives. They really are all disciples of Christ, the way they minister to each other."

A final school liturgy will be celebrated by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard on June 8, 9 a.m., at St. James Church. Alumni, former teachers and others are invited to view the school's archives.

On the last day of school, classes will be cancelled. Instead, students will go to Hoffman's Playland in Latham and have a barbecue.

Said Mrs. Notaro: "St. James won't be forgotten."

(About 58 percent of the families at St. James intend to enroll their children in either Blessed Sacrament or St. Casimir's School in Albany. The rest will send their children to Albany public schools or pursue other options.)

(6/1/06) [[In-content Ad]]