WARWICK – It did not take long for Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Hope to upgrade its home. Plus, the soon-to-be-launched Catholic school did not have to look all that far for its new school building, either.
Chesterton announced Thursday that it has acquired from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence buildings that once housed the former parish and school of Saint Francis of Assisi Church at 596 Jefferson Blvd. The new future school buildings serve as Chesterton’s permanent home. The property, which was bought for $1.6 million, is a mere few hundred feet from the originally planned school building at 487 Jefferson Blvd. that Chesterton was leasing, according to Chesterton board Chairman Michael Casey.
Preparing for Potential Tax Changes
The upcoming 2024 election will have a major impact on tax policy, specifically provisions created…
Learn More
Chesterton said Saint Francis of Assisi School closed in 2009, and the church merged with Saints Rose and Clement Parish in the city in 2021. The church building has since been used as a meeting center for various Catholic groups, Chesterton said.
Back in December, Chesterton announced its establishment in Rhode Island and will begin teaching students this fall. Chesterton has 44 other locations across the U.S. and the Jefferson Boulevard location will be Chesterton’s first one in New England, just a few minutes from Interstate 95.
Initially, the school planned to be housed at 487 Jefferson Blvd. However, Casey told Providence Business News Thursday the 487 Jefferson Blvd. property, at 3,000 total square feet, is “really small, very little green space” and would only be suitable for the first year or two of operations.
“If you put 40 people in there and with teachers and parents, it was getting tight,” Casey said. “We could see it in our open houses. After year two, we could not stay there; it would not work.”
Now, the former Saint Francis of Assisi School building, Casey said, housed more than 200 students – which is Chesterton’s eventual enrollment goal for its school – and has “plenty of space. Casey also said Chesterton had been looking at that property since it first wanted to launch the school, but the Diocese had not put the church buildings on the market until February.
Plus, location matters for Chesterton, Casey said, given that parents of incoming students are coming from “all over the area.”
Casey added there were other potential properties available, including one in East Providence, for Chesterton to consider. But, along with the more-centralized location, he said the former Saint Francis of Assisi school property has larger acreage and plenty of space for future growth.
“We have parents coming from all over the state. We have one coming from Connecticut,” Casey said. “We have one coming from New Bedford. That [Jefferson Boulevard location] is central, and perfect. So, we said ‘let’s buy it.’ ”
Casey says the school will open with its first students on Aug. 28. He says current enrollment – which is projected to first be 15 to 20 students – is in “good shape.” But he said things may change for the upcoming school year since there is more available space.
Casey still wants the enrollment low to maintain its proposed teaching method, which allows better learning opportunities and connections between students and teachers at Chesterton. With more space in the new school building now, Casey feel it may need to hire a new teacher in case more people “come out of the woodwork” and consider Chesterton as a school for their children.
“We have plenty of space to grow into now,” Casey said.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
