On Friday, October 13, the Spalding Catholic School Board of Education released this letter about our future.
OUR HISTORY...
Spalding Catholic School was formed from Alton St. Mary's Academy Elementary and High School and Parish, Granville St. Joseph's Catholic Elementary and High School and Parish and St. Anthony's Catholic Elementary School and Parish. St. Mary's Academy High School and St. Joseph's High School were funded and maintained by the respective parishes until June 1, 1962.
At the request of Bishop Joseph Mueller, Ordinary of the Sioux City Diocese, the two high schools joined to form Spalding Catholic High School at that time. The first graduating class from Spalding Catholic High School was in the spring of 1963. Father Dale George was the first superintendent of Spalding.
The name chosen was in honor of the great Archbishop of Peoria, John Lancaster Spalding. Our Lady of Lourdes is the patron saint of the school.
With decreasing enrollment and fewer teaching Sisters, the consolidation of the three parish grade schools was undertaken in 1978. Kindergarten through second grade would be at the Hospers center; third through fifth would be at the Granville center as well as the high school; sixth through eighth grades would be at the Alton center. Sister Virginia Jennings was the principal of the three centers. From 1978-2013, all three centers were used for various grade levels, with the high school students always in the high school building in Granville.
In 2012-13, after discernment and a year long process, a decision was made to close
Spalding Catholic High School and unify grades 9-12 with Gehlen Catholic High School in
LeMars. The last graduating class of Spalding Catholic High School was 2013, exactly 50 years after the school was first founded.
Spalding Catholic School is now a Prek through 6th grade school.