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At a time when many Catholic schools are struggling, St. Augustine's School in Troy is growing.

The school's principal, Jim Clement, pointed out that St. Augustine's has three universal pre-Kindergarten classes, which are free and non-denominational. When young students have a good experience in these, Mr. Clement said, parents are likely to send the children to St. Augustine's for Kindergarten through grade six, as well.

Fundraisers, like the thrice-weekly bingo games that bring in about $75,000 a year, help make tuition more affordable for financially-strapped families. St. Augustine's also has a program through which families can swap uniforms or buy used ones; and the school saves money through decisions like buying surplus computers from New York State offices for its computer labs.

Teachers and parents at St. Augustine's also notice the smaller touches that make the school special: the weekly newsletter and parent-teacher folder; the spring swimming unit at the nearby Boys and Girls Club; the school nurse who texts teachers with a student's progress.

There's a 20-player marching band for grades three through six - the only one of its kind in the Albany Diocese. There are Kindergarten- through sixth-grade Spanish classes, and a year-round nursery school that stays open on snow days and most school holidays.

Community concern
Jon Brookins, father of a pre-Kindergartner and a first-grader, says St. Augustine's is adept at creating a community.

"I can't go anywhere in town without someone saying, 'There's Emma,' or, 'There's Cora,'" Mr. Brookins said of the many people who recognize his children.

He also recalled running into a third-grade teacher who introduced the Brookins family to her husband and told them how to find her Facebook page.

"The teachers teach - but, at the same time, the other teachers go out of their way to encourage the kids," Mr. Brookins said.

For example, first-grader Emma knew the teacher described above through an after-care program that keeps her busy with playtime and homework help until 5 p.m.

"When they get home, all I really have to do is look over their homework," Mr. Brookins said, adding that he feels comfortable knowing who watches his kids after the school day ends: "It's the teachers from school. It's not some random person."

Emma had started at the school through the universal pre-Kindergarten offering. Last year, that program was responsible for enrolling 20 out of 25 Kindergartners, said Mr. Clement.

The pre-K program has been so successful that "we could have another classroom if we wanted to," the principal added.

Keep on growing
Enrollment at St. Augustine's has increased at a rate of 20 percent for the last three years; it's jumped from 115 students to 214 in a decade.

When Mr. Clement started as principal 10 years ago, the 110-year-old school struggled with enrollment and testing scores. Within three years, each subject area was evaluated and consistent curriculum written. The increasing number of new students seemed to follow.

"Word of mouth is our best advertising," Mr. Clement said - adding that, ironically, the school isn't on a main street: "People are sometimes surprised when they find us."

Tuition at St. Augustine's increases about two percent every year. Next year's bill will be $3,500 for one child and $4,700 for a family. About half of students receive free or reduced-price lunches.

Forty percent of students hail from Lansingburgh, 40 percent from Troy and 20 percent from Shenendehowa, Berlin, Schaghticoke, Mechanicville, Waterford, Watervliet, Cohoes and other districts.

About 70 percent of students are Catholic.

"We definitely fill a need in Lansingburgh," said first-grade teacher Anne Graham, referring to the 2009 closure of Our Lady of Victory School in Troy, leaving just St. Augustine's and Sacred Heart School for Catholic school options in the greater city of Troy.

Faith-based
Students attend Mass at nearby St. Augustine's Church the first Friday of every month, plus religious holidays and extra days during Lent. A chapel is available in the old convent that's also used for nursery school now. Prayers and intentions are read over the school's loudspeaker every morning, and monthly prayer services are organized by children.

"They get an empathy for what's happening with families because we can talk about God," Mr. Clement said.

Teachers make it a priority to work God into lessons, said Ann Bartholomew, who's taught fourth grade at St. Augustine's for 16 years.

"The teachers who are here believe not just in education, but in Catholic education," she said.

For instance, during a history lesson on American Indians, she tells her class about the discrimination the group faced for not being Christian and asks the students how Jesus would react to it.

That form of faith education is "just intertwined," she said. "It doesn't have to be a set religion class."

According to parents like Mr. Brookins, it shows.

"My kids say the dinnertime prayer every night," even when they're at someone else's house, he said. And they always ask questions about God. "That makes me happy because it shows that they care."[[In-content Ad]]

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