New Catholic middle school opens in Wauconda

Frassati Catholic Academy in Wauconda debuted Monday for 130 students, who are attending the Chicago Archdiocese's first and only middle school.

Visitors see a painting of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati shortly after entering the school on the grounds of Transfiguration Parish. Beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1990, Frassati was an athletic Italian layman whose life's mission was to help the poor.

Principal Diane Vida said everything from the buses to classes ran smoothly for the school's first day. She said 130 of a maximum 150 students are enrolled in sixth through eighth grade.

"I truly believe we had Pier Giorgio and all of the saints with us," Vida said as she walked a quiet hallway.

Leaders from parishes Santa Maria del Popolo in Mundelein, St. Mary of the Annunciation in Fremont Township and Transfiguration joined forces to create Frassati Catholic Academy.

Feeder schools from all three parishes still have kindergarten-through-fifth-grade programs, but the children will shift to Frassati when they reach sixth grade. Frassati's colors are maroon and gold.

Average class size will be 24 students in the middle school, Vida said, with annual tuition at $4,500. All students will use Macintosh laptop computers in the school and take home a flash drive.

Frassati received 480 applications for six full- and three part-time teaching jobs. Along with teaching certificates, the instructors needed to be practicing Catholics who know their faith and are technology-savvy, Vida said.

"It was very tough to go through to select the best and the brightest," said Vida, who has more than 35 years of experience in Catholic and public education and administration.

Frassati, who ministered to Italy's destitute in the 1920s, will be part of the school's religion curriculum. Each classroom door has a beatitude above it, such as "Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted," from Matthew 5:4.