Welcome to Our School!
St. Brendan School provides instruction for students from kindergarten through Grade Eight in core curriculum as well as Computer Science, Art, Library Science, Physical and Health Education, Music. Foreign Language instruction is offered for students in Grades 1-8. All of these classes help to create a well-rounded educational experience for our students. In addition, there is the continual presence and commitment of the priests of the parish. Above all, there is daily instruction in the Catholic religion, as well as school participation in Masses on First Fridays and Holy Days, religious observances during Advent and Lent, and other activities that enrich our faith. In choosing St. Brendan School for your child's education, we believe that you will have made, not only a wise choice, but a decision which will enhance your child's future life and help him or her to achieve goals of excellence in every area of life.
Our mission is to give all children who attend our school the moral guidance and values learned from our Catholic tradition so that they, like St. Brendan himself, will be able to successfully navigate future challenges. The mission of the school is supported by all the members of the St. Brendan parish community who contribute generously to our school and enable us to provide this quality education at a very reasonable per-pupil cost. We appreciate the fact that you have many educational choices and we sincerely thank you for seriously considering St. Brendan School as one of them.
School History
After St. Brendan Parish was established in 1909, it became a priority to build a school that would reinforce the Catholic faith in the lives of the children of the parish as well as give them a well-rounded education in all secular subjects. The Third Plenary Council of Baltimore had mandated this a priority in 1884, which recognized that the public school system was neither designed for not capable of strengthening religious faiths in a pluralistic society. To provide Catholic education, funds were laboriously collected for many years at great sacrifice from the meager earnings of the parishioners of the parish.
The need for Catholic schooling had become evident, and in the early 1930's the pastor arranged for many of the parish children to attend St. Mary Academy at Bay View, a small private school staffed by the Sisters of Mercy. These parish children formed a nucleus for the future St. Brendan School. When space became limited at Bay View, the pastor was able to procure the old Turner Avenue School from the City of East Providence, and in September of 1943, six grades were opened in the newly named St. Brendan School. Seven Sisters of Mercy, the first principal being Sister Mary Vincent, staffed it. At this time the Sisters were moved into a newly opened convent across the street from the school and the parish and the school continued to flourish.
In May of 1955, ground was broken for the new, sixteen-classroom school. Construction took an entire year but finally the students and faculty moved into the new school which is the one still in use today. Astonishingly, that first year the enrollment was such that an extra first grade was needed.
July of the following year brought tragedy to the parish. Fire destroyed the roof of the church which had to be demolished and the school gymnasium was used as the parish church until a new church structure could be built.
The first graduation for a class that had completed eight grades at St. Brendan School was held on June 12, 1964. There were now fifteen religious and two lay teachers. Student enrollment in 1966 was 585, an all time high. During 1960 and 1970 the school was supplied by the East Providence School system with three teachers for Math and Science. This was a great help, for religious faculty numbers were declining due to fewer vocations and the fact that religious sisters were branching out into other fields. This decrease in religious faculty continued through 1970 and 1980, until now the entire faculty is made up of lay teachers.
Parishioners continue to give extra help through work with the Parent Council, which work in conjunction with the faculty for educational improvements and enrichment activities. The first functional School Board was formed in 1998 to meet the needs of the present and provide guidance for the future.