The History of St. Ambrose School
Faith. Humanity. Creativity. Charity. At St. Ambrose School these traditions did not develop overnight, but have been fostered since its beginning in 1922.
The original school building was built in 1922 under the leadership of the Reverand Walter McCarthy, the first pastor. It housed eight classrooms, a church that seated 600, and a large hall for parish activities. The Annex, which still stands, was added in 1926.
The first faculty consisted of Sister Dosithea O¹Connor, the principal, Sister Zita Murphy and Miss Dorothy Castellion. The Sisters of St. Joseph have been the teaching order associated with St. Ambrose since it began. For years these generous religious donated their services to the Parish, receiving no salary.
During its first year, 122 boys and girls attended St. Ambrose School. By the 1940¹s, class sizes frequently exceeded 60 students per class, and following World War II, registration soared even further. In 1950, there were 820 students enrolled in a school built for only 700. It was decided to build a new church, and convert the space occupied by the present one into six additional classrooms. In October, 1960, following a successful three-year fund drive, the new St. Ambrose Church was dedicated by Bishop James E. Kearney. But plans to begin remodeling were halted unexpectedly on April 29, 1962, when the original school building was destroyed by fire.
Within two days, students from Grades 14 were able to attend school in the Annex. The community generously offered aid, and the remaining DPs [Displaced Pupils] attended class at St. Rita's, Annunciation, and Corpus Christi. In the following school year, 400 students and eight teachers used the third floor of Immaculate Conception School for Grades 5-8.
Exactly eighteen months after the fire, the present St. Ambrose School was ready to open, with eighteen carpeted classrooms, a new and innovative idea at the time.
The St. Ambrose of today is a living Christian community. It embraces the future from a solid continuity of tradition. The students and the parish see the Church and the School as a family, an ideal the St. Ambrose founders began eighty years ago and would be proud to see sustained and enriched today.
