April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
LOUDONVILLE EDUCATION
Saint Gregory's School: a unique place for boys
Daniel Burnett is an eighth-grader who reached Knight Templar status this year - the highest ranking of five levels awarded to students in grades five through eight for exemplary community service at the all-boys' school. He's the only student in his grade to receive the honor.
"I think it's pretty cool," Daniel told The Evangelist, "because you get the knowledge that you've done something good for the community."
Daniel has done plenty of good, from tutoring younger students to altar serving at his parish to spending time with Alzheimer's patients at St. Joseph's Provincial House in Latham. Last year, he spent three days sanding and painting windowsills at Saint Gregory's.
From kindergarten through eighth grade, service is ingrained into students at Saint Gregory's through food drives, projects, fundraisers for victims of natural disasters and charity basketball games between staff and disc jockeys from 88.3 FM, the radio station of Siena College in Loudonville.
Principal Jeff Loomis said the money has benefited Christmas gift programs for needy families, who often ask for items as simple as a toothbrush: "I think it really opens the eyes up of our kids. It really points out how fortunate we are to be here."
Since the '60s
Saint Gregory's School was founded in 1962 by Loudonville laypeople as a private Catholic school; many students went on to boarding schools. At its peak, enrollment stood at more than 200 students.
Today, there are 143 students, from three-year-old pre-kindergartners to eighth-graders. The school is co-ed until kindergarten and single-sex from first grade until eighth grade.
A private school is governed by a board of trustees, as opposed to the diocesan Catholic Schools Office. Mr. Loomis said this allows for differences in curriculum.
Before the principal came to Saint Gregory's, enrollment was declining and the budget showed deficits. He laid off four teachers and hired a marketing and development coordinator. Enrollment has since increased each year and finances are stable. Tuition is $12,000 and did not increase this year.
Saint Gregory's students hail from 18 different school districts; about 68 percent are Catholic. The school teaches religion starting in kindergarten; eighth-graders learn about Islam and Judaism "to give them an idea that they're functioning in a global world," Mr. Loomis said. "They absolutely love it and the parents love it more."
Students organize monthly Masses celebrated by Franciscan friars from Siena College; they also pray together daily. Second-graders prepare for the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist. Two were even baptized at the school last year.
Mr. Loomis said that education is competitive in the Loudonville area, but he trusts Saint Gregory's to educate his own son, a fourth-grader: "The level of attention that he has gotten - it's hard to quantify it."
The biggest class has 15 students; the smallest, nine. "As a student, you can't hide anywhere on any particular day," Mr. Loomis remarked. "The teachers know their strengths and can very easily, on a one-on-one basis, mediate their weaknesses."
That works for Daniel: "You're just all, like, one big class of friends," he said.
Daniel recently shadowed a student at a public high school, which had bigger classes. He noted that the other school didn't offer Latin - a requirement for upper school students at Saint Gregory's, in addition to Spanish, which starts on the pre-kindergarten level.
Latin "helps you with learning a different language, which is helpful on a resume," Daniel said. Mr. Loomis added that knowledge of Latin helps students score high on the SATs.
Typically, 68 percent of students from Saint Gregory's also qualify for Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth summer programs.
Extracurriculars
The students' day is broken up with frequent outdoor breaks on the 22-acre campus. After-school sports offerings include soccer, basketball, skiing and track and field; baseball and lacrosse have been offered based on demand.
The seventh- and eighth-graders in the handbell choir perform at Masses, and members of the school's rock band jam at coffeehouse events.
Because Saint Gregory's tends to attract parents whose careers require them to move frequently, the school welcomes about 10 new students after the first day of school every year.
"They're just accepted - immediately, in the classroom; immediately, in the friendship structure," Mr. Loomis said.[[In-content Ad]]
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