FLOWERY BRANCH—The Archdiocese of Atlanta is preparing to open a new school in Hall County. This will be the first new school established by the archdiocese in close to 20 years.  

Doors for youngsters and their families are to swing open for the first day of school in the fall of 2025. The grade school will be hosted initially on Prince of Peace Church’s 65-acre campus in Flowery Branch, using the parish education building.  

For the inaugural year, plans are to welcome some 80 young students for pre-K and kindergarten. A grade would be added every year, and eventually enrollment is to go through middle school.   

The school aims to serve families in this corner of the archdiocese but expects to draw from worshippers at Prince of Peace Church, St. Michael Church in Gainesville and the St. John Paul II Mission in Gainesville, where many young families are Hispanic. 

It will go by the name Hall County Catholic Elementary School until families work with educators to submit favored school names for the Atlanta archbishop to select.  

“It’s so exciting to be opening a new school. That area, that parish has wanted a school for a long time. There was a great desire,” said Superintendent Patty Childs.  

After just one weekend of advertising, many parents and prospective teachers reached out to the Office of Catholic Schools with phone calls and emails, she said.  

Focus on Hispanic families  

For a few years officials have studied expanding the archdiocesan school district. The newest school is St. Catherine of Siena in Kennesaw, which opened in 2002. There are 13 grade schools overseen by the Atlanta Archdiocese, along with St. Mary’s Academy that serves students from kindergarten to 12th grade. 

“As one of the most growth-oriented dioceses in the country, we certainly should be taking seriously our responsibility to provide a Catholic education,” said Bishop Joel M. Konzen, SM, who has been leading the study effort. He was an educator for many years at Marist School.   

This new interparochial school will be about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta, near Lake Lanier. The fast-growing Hall County has an estimated 217,000 people, according to government statistics. About one out of every three residents is Latino. Some 17 percent of students enrolled in schools are Latino.  

However, Bishop Konzen said he sees many more school-age Hispanics in the pews when he visits parishes than in the schools.  

About half the population in the archdiocese is Hispanic. A consultant with Meitler, a planning firm that helps Catholic organizations, estimated there are 100,000 school-age Hispanics in a 10-county area around Atlanta, adding it is a “huge market segment and mission field.” 

“We’re seeing this is our major Catholic population that is not present in our Catholic schools, and we need to do what we can to see that our schools are at least open to them,” said Bishop Konzen.  

According to consultants, tuition and transportation needs are key obstacles for Hispanic families to place children in a Catholic school.  

Enrollment at Catholic schools nationwide has now stabilized after falling since 2013, according to the National Catholic Education Association. The trend of decline stopped after the COVID-19 pandemic.  

With population growth, enrollment in the archdiocese has remained steady. Bishop Konzen said the three hosting parishes have seen “off the chart” participation in religious education. The two parishes and mission combined attract more than 10,000 families to Masses.  

The young people are there, and families show an interest in passing along the faith, which is a strong signal they would consider a Catholic education, he said. 

Dr. Diane Starkovich, the former archdiocesan school superintendent and a consultant on this project, said she is confident families will be eager to fill the classroom seats.  

“I’ve said all along that I think that’s an area that needs a school, and it’s going to surprise us. It’s going to surprise us with interest,” she said.  

Building the school  

Prince of Peace Church will host the school with its turnkey facility. Its education building has several classrooms, offices and a space for a cafeteria.  

Deacon David Schreckenberger, the parish director of operations, said the parish is excited about this happening. The early church members hoped a school would be in the future when the campus opened in 2005, he said. Members see it as “a legacy to that would continue to feed the community,” he said.  

The three parishes will share the cost to get the school open, each contributing $100,000. After the school is running, it is expected to be self-sustaining through tuition and fundraising. 

An estimate is that the school could grow to more than 400 students at full capacity. The feasibility study suggested two sections for each grade. 

The next steps are administrative, said Childs, with promotion of the future school, working with the parishes on Georgia student scholarship programs and coordinating information sessions for interested families.  

Childs said a Catholic education is an investment in the future, and parents should never let concern about costs dissuade them for looking into the school.  

“No situation is impossible to overcome,” she said.  

Bishop Konzen said families along with the school will be working together to share the faith, in addition to the academics.  

“This is a school that is going to reinforce what (parents are) doing and teaching at home. The kind of domestic church that (parents) are creating in your home is going to be fortified and reinforced by everything that goes on in this school. You and the school are going to be real partners,” said Bishop Konzen.