Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
December 5, 2001
St. Rose of Lima school looking for alumni
Once affluent, now financially challenged school, looking for help
St. Rose of Lima Elementary School keeps a close eye not only on its current students but also on its past students, and to help administrators do that, the school is starting an alumni publication, the principal said.
"We care about our alumni, and we are excited to start an alumni newsletter," said Jeannie Courchene, St. Rose's principal.
St. Rose, unlike its prosperous beginning days, is considered a financially challenged school, yet it still continues its resilient, nurturing environment.
"A patchwork quilt," is how Courchene describes the school community. Explaining further, she added, "There are lots of scraps that are our riches — like the used carpet that had been donated. It is far more gorgeous than anything bought in a store."
Courchene's concentrated focus is to locate the over 1,000 alumni of St. Rose and to ask them to come forward and donate their time, talent, and treasures back to their Catholic roots.
"The support of the alumni is crucial in having the school continue," she said.
Recalling her days spent at the school, Stephanie Foote, an alumna of the second graduating class said, "St. Rose was an environment where spirit, learning, and ethics were intertwined. I loved every day at St. Rose."
St. Rose of Lima Parish was organized in the Valverde area of Denver in 1921. Dedicated by Archbishop Urban J. Vehr, St. Rose of Lima Elementary School began in 1955 with an enrollment of 150 students for grades one through four. At its inception, St. Rose was considered to be an affluent school and parish, with a significant Irish and German population. Operated by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, the school was praised for its warm and caring environment, as it still is today. By the fall of 1959, additional classrooms were added to complete the school through the eighth grade, with its first graduation held in 1960.
Today, the school is made up of a predominantly Hispanic community with many third-generation families attending.
"Everyone is so trusting and entrusting of their children," Courchene said. "The community still remains a resilient group and continues to come back each year.
"Parents sometimes work two to three jobs to keep their children at St. Rose in order to continue growing their children's faith and to have their children thrive in a safe and loving environment," she added.
The school's Christmas wish list includes window shades for classrooms, updated playground equipment, scientific calculators, water fountains, electric pencil sharpeners and bookshelves, the principal said. To donate to that list, call the school at 303-733-5806.
Seeds of Hope Charitable Trust, an organization established in 1996 to help the inner city schools, is assisting St. Rose in its effort to locate all alumni. If you are an alumni, call 303-715-3127 to help the school update its database.
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