History of St. Rose of Lima School
Saint Rose of Lima Catholic School is a Jubilee School re-opened by the Diocese of Nashville in 1999. It is a ministry of Saint Rose Parish and is supported by the Parish. The School also serves families from surrounding parishes.
Saint Rose School opened its doors in 1953 as a four-classroom school with two grades to each room. The Sisters of the Most Precious Blood from O’Fallon, Missouri sent three Sisters to staff the school.
Classes began with 81 students: 44 were from Sewart Air Base and 37 were from Murfreesboro. Throughout its early existence more than one-half of the students were from the Air Force Base.
Through the years the facility had been expanded until in 1969 there were nine classrooms, a library, cafeteria and gymnasium. The enrollment increased steadily until it reached its peak at the beginning of the 1968-69 school year with 263 students.
During the 1968-69 school year, it was learned that Sewart Air Force Base would close and dependents would begin to leave. By the end of the year, the Precious Blood Sisters had withdrawn, and the impending closing of the Air Force base seemed to be pointing to the closing of the school since over half of the children, plus several faculty, were from the base.
The year opened with 195 students, 98 of which were from the base. As the school year progressed the children from the base moved. By the end of the school year, there were no children from the base enrolled at the school. The projected enrollment for the 1970-71 school year was 83 students. The Sisters were unable to return a second year. The School Board recommended that the school close. The 1969-70 year was the last year of operation.
Several factors would contribute to the ongoing growth in the Catholic community in Murfreesboro. Rutherford County in general and Murfreesboro in particular began a time of unprecedented growth in the 1990s. The opening of Nissan Motor Manufacturing Plant brought an influx of families from heavily Catholic industrial states in the north. In addition, the spirit of love, faith and charity found at Saint Rose Church began to draw dozens of adults each year to the RCIA program, helping to grow the parish to over 1000 families.
Parents began to ask for a Catholic school. They worked for this goal with great enthusiasm. In 1997, Bishop Kmiec inaugurated an in depth study concerning the areas in need of a Catholic school. It was decided that Saint Rose School would be re-opened.
In 1998, the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia Congregation in Nashville agreed to return to the school.
In 1999, Saint Rose School reopened with 88 students in Grades K-4, two Dominican Sisters and five lay teachers. Each year the school has grown and in August 2003 the eighth grade was added. The addition of a second section of each grade will be completed in 2009.
