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St. Stanislaus School Marking 100 Years of History
.jpg) Children at St. Stanislaus Kostka School create a '100' to mark the school's coming centennial. Find out more on school here. |
"The school opened to provide education for members of St. Stan's Parish. They really were children of Polish immigrants," said Sister Jacqueline Kazanowski of Congregation of the Sisters of St. Felix, principal of the school since 1994.
Now the students are multicultural, and for the centennial they were taught to say a short prayer in Polish "just for the day" as well as to sing "Happy Birthday."
According to information gleaned from the Adams Historical Society, it was decided in 1911 to establish a parochial school for the parish. The Rev. Francis Kolodziej, pastor of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, invited the Felician Sisters of the Province of Buffalo to teach at a school that was yet to be built.
Four sisters came and started classes in the church basement. Work on the school building started in 1911 and was completed in 1912; the Most Reverend Thomas D. Beaven, bishop of the Springfield Diocese, consecrated the school.
One of the first children enrolled was Jessie Armata. Any memories of her school years that she did not give voice to went with her when she died on Jan. 29, 2011, at the age of 104. But Mary Anne Wojtaszek, one of the children born of Armata's marriage to Jozef Wojtaszek, remembers some of her mother's stories. about being transferred from the Hoosac Street public school to the parochial school.
"I was in first grade when they came and told us to get our coats on," Jessie Wojtaszek told her daughter of how she stransferred from the old Hoosac Street public schoo. "We were going across the street."
Armata was a very good student, skipping two grades and being one of the only two in her class to pass a diocesean test that eighth-graders were required to take. But one day it was her spontaneous display of faith that drew attention.
"A sister lost the little screw to her eyeglasses in the hallways, and Mother recited a prayer to St. Anthony (Patron Saint of lost objects)," said Wojtaszek. "Then she found the screw in the floor boards."
 In its heyday, some 759 children were enrolled at the Summer Street school; now the number is about 140. The teacher-student ratio has dropped from 50 to 17. |
The school population peaked at 759 students in 1924. A kindergarten class was introduced in 1936 with 18 boys and 23 girls.
When Kazanowski taught at the school in 1965-66, fulfilling a year's assignment, there were 442 students — about 50 in a class.
"Structurally, the school building is the same now as it was in 1965," said Kazanowski. "The classrooms, however, now have movable furniture, tables for small group work, carpeting, white boards, wiring for computers and Internet access."
McCann Technical School students wired every classroom for computer and Internet access in 2002, and now the school has wi-fi and teachers bring their laptops.
St. Stanislaus may have been able to make the leap into 21st century learning, but like so many Catholic institutions, it's had to face a changing population. Catholic schools in Northern Berkshire began locking their doors in the 1970s, and Kazanowski emphasized that it was because of the Rev. John C. Chwalek, longtime pastor of St. Stanislaus' Church, that the school remained open.
"He said the school would close over his dead body," Kazanowski recalled. Chwalek retired nine years ago at the age of 80.
Now operated through the diocese, the school is run on tuition and the nearly $50,000 collected at fund raisers each year.
Jennifer Civella, president of the home and school association, said running fund raisers is a group effort. For instance, all school families donate at least eight hours of time to make the annual pre-Christmas Bazaar possible. Some make the delicious pierogies the community has come to expect at the event.
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Other centennial events include an open house on Saturday, Jan. 29, with a photography display reflections on the past 100 years; Centennial Gala weekend with a social at PNA on Friday, June 22; a golf tournament at Stamford (Vt.) Country Club on Saturday, June 23, followed by a dinner-dance at St. Elizabeth's Parish Center in North Adams; and a Mass and picnic at the Polanka Picnic Grounds in on Sunday, June 24.
Students are also celebrating 100 through an outreach service during the school year.
"Students commit to 100 hours of service out in the community or in school," said Civello, adding an example was "they can collect juice pouches and donate them to a group of women in Haiti who use them to make purses or tote bags."
The Centennial Committee contacted alumni in all 50 states, informing them of events. Doctors, lawyers and former FBI agents were among the alumni who replied and sent donations and updates on what they have been doing.
"It's wonderful to hear about and share in their success," said Kazanowski. "We have shared with them our dreams for state of the art technology to enhance learning for all our students. Another goal for this year is improving our play area for the students."
Now the 140 pupils in the school come from Adams, North Adams and Cheshire; non-Catholic children are also accepted on a space basis. No longer is the teaching staff comprised of religious sisters, but lay teachers.
"They donate their services," Kazanowski said of the 10 full-time and two part-time teachers. "Their salary is half of what public school teachers get."
Civello said she is very pleased with the education her two daughters are getting at the school.
"The classes are small and teaching can be individualized," she said. She also likes being involved with her children's education, and wouldn't want it any other way. "It's a very comfortable setting, and you get to know everyone and work well together."
As for the future of St. Stanislaus Kosta School, Kazanowski pointed out that the school has survived the Great Depression and recessions.
"And we are still moving on," she said. "Never give up. Never have an 'I can't do it attitude.'"
