Elgin's only Catholic high school turns 75

On Sept. 8, 1941, a small, refurbished school building off Locust Street in Elgin became the city's first Catholic high school.

St. Edward Central Catholic High School marks its 75th anniversary this year with an open house and tours of the building at 335 Locust St., from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Roughly 300 alumni and staff members are expected to celebrate Mass at 4 p.m. Saturday with Rockford Diocese Bishop David Malloy at St. Laurence Catholic Church, 572 Jewett St., Elgin. An alumni dinner will follow from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at Moretti's Ristorante and Pizzeria, 1175 W. Lake St., Bartlett.

The original St. Edward High School, built on Locust Street in 1877 as a public grade school, was destroyed by fire in 1881. It was rebuilt and renamed G.P. Lord School in 1906, and rebuilt again in 1907. The diocese later transformed that vacant school building into St. Edward's with funding from St. Joseph, St. Mary and St. Laurence parishes.

Classes initially were taught by four Adrian Dominican sisters with help from the priests of supporting parishes. Today, the school employs 45 faculty and staff members and has grown from that first graduating class of 82 boys and girls to serving 360 students.

Over the years, St. Edward has graduated many distinguished alumni, including retired federal judge Manuel Barbosa (class of 1965), soap opera star and television screenwriter Megan McTavish (class of 1967), retired Air Force inspector general and vice president of Lockheed Martin Stephen Mueller (class of 1975), and this year's Alumni of the Year, Sycamore Police Chief Glenn Theriault, formerly an Elgin police commander.

Yet, for all its history and contributions, many people in the Elgin area don't know the school exists, said Barbara Villont, school superintendent and principal.

"It's almost like the best kept secret in Elgin," she said. "It's such a phenomenal school. It's not well enough known and that's our focus right now, making sure people know who we are and what we do."

At its peak, the school had nearly 700 students in the early 1990s. That declined with Elgin Area School District U-46 opening high schools in Bartlett, Streamwood and South Elgin.

St. Edward draws students from seven Catholic elementary schools - St. Charles Borromeo in Hampshire, St. Patrick in St. Charles, St. Catherine of Siena in West Dundee, and four Elgin schools: St. Mary, St. Joseph, St. Laurence, and St. Thomas More. Students come from a number of communities within Cook, Kane and McHenry counties.

Officials are launching a marketing campaign this year to increase enrollment highlighting the school's strengths, such as smaller class sizes of about 22 students and 97 percent of graduates being college bound.

"We truly know and love our students," Villont said. "I'm not sure that's commonplace in schools today. The school has a solid base with a strong Catholic tradition, history of family and community, and academic excellence."