New GICC elementary school ready to welcome students
The new Catholic elementary school in Grand Island is one month away from opening its doors and everything is set for the school year.
July 18, 2024Updated: July 18, 2024
By News Channel Nebraska
By News Channel NebraskaGRAND ISLAND, Neb. – The new Catholic elementary school in Grand Island is one month away from opening its doors and everything is set for the school year.
“We were not expecting that much. In the initial phases of this project we thought maybe the projections were that we would see 95 to 100 students. And then as excitement built and people kept enrolling that number just kept increasing,” said superintendent and principal Jordan Engle.
230 students will occupy the 27,000 square feet of space that has been added to Grand Island’s Central Catholic's current building.
According to superintendent and principal Jordan Engle, construction is done and staff is hired. There are 14 teachers employed full time, five paraprofessionals and the administrative staff have been hired.
“We’re opening with a very, very good enrollment but there’s still room to grow," said Engle. "I think it really just speaks to the need in the community for additional schooling and opportunity so we’re happy to provide that.”
Engle says the building is state-of-the-art in terms of security and has a modern design. All the classrooms are using the latest technology.
“One of the other things that this building is set up well to do is to help students who have special needs. That’s one of the common misconceptions about private schools that we don’t accept students who have needs beyond what a regular classroom would offer there are multiple spaces at Central Catholic elementary where we have specific students who are gonna need additional assistance and we have a fully functional resource room," said Engle. "We have a special education staff, and we’re gonna do our best to serve every student who wants to get a Catholic education.”
Foundation Executive Director Jolene Wojcik said they raised enough money to construct the school and cover all the startup costs. The school is also working on renovating the middle school locker rooms and kitchen to accommodate the increase in students. Wojcik says they are focused on fundraising for scholarships.
“Part of our original campaign was a $2 million dollar endowment to honor Bishop James Golka, so we’re working on funding a $2 million dollar endowment so we make sure that’s fully funded," said Wojcik. "So we’re still asking for people to step up and helps us there. But the support is just been tremendous.”
A ribbon cutting ceremony is set for August 12th and classes start on the 14th.