Photo at Top as shared in The Kentucky Standard Newspaper: St. Gregory School in 1925, featuring several ancestors of students who still attend the school in 2024.

St. Gregory School in Samuels, Kentucky, recently celebrated a milestone: 100 years of faith-filled education. As administrators plan a campus expansion to meet the needs of a growing community, the school reflects on its humble beginnings and the pivotal role the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth played in its foundation.

Beginning in 1924 in an abandoned bottling house, the makeshift school was transformed into a center of learning with the help of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. In its first year, the school welcomed more than 40 young students. Katelyn Norris, education reporter for The Kentucky Standard notes, “The Sisters, upon finding out where the kids were having school, banded together and gathered any items that would be essential — books, pencils, slates, or chalk — and by the time school started that year, they’d had enough for each student.”

By 1925, enrollment had doubled, and the school outgrew its original location, moving to the first floor of a family home. This growth set a precedent for the school, as generations of area residents have attended over the years.

Clara Fulkerson, Director of Children’s Religious Education at St. Gregory, told Norris in an interview for the centennial how it is heartwarming to see the tradition of multi-generational students learning there. “It’s just so neat to watch that history continue. But I’m watching these faces on these little ones… and it’s a good atmosphere more than anything else. We’re doing things pretty well,” she said.

Today, St. Gregory Parish serves nearly 1,900 parishioners, and the school has grown to 215 students, up from 146 just nine years ago. Principal Camille Boone attributes this growth to the school’s mission of faith formation, academic excellence, and character development. “We have a lot of students that are here that are not Catholic, probably about 25%, but they’re here for all three of those things,” Boone told the newspaper. “It’s faith formation, but they’re here to be a part of the small school atmosphere, to learn more about their own faith, whether it’s Catholic or not, and then to be pushed academically and to grow in their own character, just trying to get them together so they’re productive members of society.”

Looking ahead, St. Gregory is preparing for a three-phase expansion that will include a new secure entryway, relocated administrative offices, and additional learning spaces to accommodate its growth.

Though the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth are no longer in active ministry at St. Gregory, their influence endures. They are remembered in prayer and continue to share connections with the school, from attending special liturgies to welcoming visits from St. Gregory students during holidays.

As St. Gregory embarks on its next century, may it remain rooted in the values of faith, community, and the belief that every child deserves the chance to learn and grow.