HISTORY

St. Mary Catholic School opened on September 4, 1951 at 5592 South Nevada Street in Littleton, Colorado. Father Fred McCallin was instrumental in opening the school. After receiving a commitment from the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Father McCallin opened the school with an initial enrollment of 110 students in grades one through six. Over the next three years additional classrooms and grades were added, and the first graduation exercise for eighth grade was held on June 6, 1954. By 1958, the school had thirteen classrooms, 700 students, seven religious, and six lay faculty members.

Eventually, the small church and school on Nevada Street proved to be inadequate for the growing parish, and Father McCallin secured the Prince Street property.  The new St. Mary Church was dedicated on September 13, 1962 with a new school for grades six through eight opening in 1964.  Grades one through five remained at the Nevada Campus.  At this time enrollment totaled 1,105 students, with ten Sisters and fifteen lay teachers.  Kindergarten was added in the early 1970’s.

Father Joseph Monahan came to St. Mary Parish in 1986.  He envisioned an additional six classrooms, an art room and computer lab, and a multi-purpose room which would double as a school cafeteria.  These projects were completed in 1993, and as changing times demanded smaller classes, the school enrolled 650 students on the two campuses, with approximately 24 students per class and three classes per grade level.