HISTORY

In February of 1995, Reverend Patrick J. Caverly, V.G., pastor of the Church of the Annunciation, met with a group of his parishioners to determine if the parish was ready and willing to take on the challenge of starting a new school. Their response was so positive and enthusiastic that "The Promise and the Dream" of founding Annunciation Catholic Academy was begun. An advisory board was formed and the project was inaugurated immediately. A formal needs assessment was not conducted because waiting lists for the neighboring Catholic schools were extensive, and local and diocesan officials agreed that taking time to statistically prove the obvious would only slow the project down.

Richard SanGiovanni, a parishioner, was hired as architect in February of 1995. For the next few months, he and key members of the advisory board visited other schools and spoke to Father Caverly about concepts that were important to him. In addition, these extremely committed parish leaders read literature about trends in elementary education and spoke with educational leaders from the community before preparing initial plans.

The advisory board worked with Father Caverly throughout the spring of 1995. The principal of a neighboring Catholic school was added to the advisory board in April, and she worked with it on most phases of the project. The mission and philosophy of the school were determined early in the spring so that all subsequent decisions could be made in light of what had been decided as the parish's vision for the school.

The parish's response to the project was overwhelming. Two kindergarten classes were started in leased modular classrooms in the fall of 1995. Projections were to add a first grade in the fall of 1996 while fund-raising and building plans were finalized for the school, which eventually would become kindergarten to grade 8 in structure. Even though there were 1,200 students in the parish's excellent religious education program, the momentum that would eventually build was never anticipated.

As the fund-raising phase of "The Promise and the Dream" began in the fall of 1995, it became apparent that the parish was willing to make a serious financial commitment to the project. It was equally apparent that the parish wanted a full K-8 school as soon as possible. Given the enormous amount of support, it was decided to open a full elementary school in the fall of 1996. A principal was selected by Father Caverly at the beginning of October of 1995, and in December she began working at Annunciation two days a week while continuing her duties as principal of a neighboring Catholic school the other three days. The official groundbreaking ceremony was held with Bishop Norbert M. Dorsey, C.P.,on December 16, 1995. A stated campaign goal of $5 million for the construction of the school and renovation of the church was reached before the end of December 1995.

During early January 1996, three orientation sessions were held for all those who might be interested in hearing about the proposed school. Hundreds of people attended each session. Registration was held for parishioners only on Saturday, February 3, 1996; nonparishioners were allowed to register the following Saturday. By the end of these two registration days, it was decided that there were sufficient students to open three kindergarten classes, two each of grades 1 to 6, one of grade 7, and one of grade 8. Waiting lists were immediately started in most grade levels.

While construction moved along at an amazing pace, teachers were interviewed and hired during the spring of 1996. Many of those hired were parishioners who had been working in government-sponsored (public) schools previously. Every effort was made to coordinate the hiring of staff and the acceptance of students with the pastors and principals of neighboring Catholic schools. The principal ofAnnunciation also offered to meet with the pastors of all neighboring parishes to keep them informed of the progress of Annunciation Catholic Academy.

Along with Father Caverly, Bill Orosz, chair of the advisory board, and Mark McLaughlin, director of operations for the parish, continued to oversee all aspects of the project. They also met regularly with the principal concerning staffing, the budget, and purchases of furniture, texts, and equipment. Since the school was to be highly technological - containing 110 totally networked computers, a centralized media retrieval system, an automated library, a closed-circuit television, and a state-of-the-art sound system - their expertise and guidance was essential in making all the pieces work together while dealing with several major vendors and providers and the architect and builder.

It is important to note that all decisions regarding technology were made based on educational goals and objectives. From the onset of the project, the principal had a vision of what could be achieved through the use of technology; the members of the advisory board were in agreement. Only teachers who would be comfortable in this highly technological school setting were hired, and ample opportunity for training was built into the budget and school schedule.

Construction of the building was completed in July, a month before schedule. A certificate of occupancy was obtained from the City of Altamonte Springs on July 17, 1996, and the office staff moved into the building on August 1, 1996.

Classes began for grades K through 8 on September 1, 1996, just 18 months after Father Caverly asked a small group of parishioners if they felt there was interest in starting a school!