By Steve Neill
of The Catholic Virginian

As the only Catholic school in the Diocese of Richmond with the International Baccalaureate Program for its 6th, 7th and 8th grade students, St. Mary’s School in Richmond feels it offers them a holistic approach to learning.

Robin Rooks, the school’s French teacher for the 5th grade and middle school and coordinator of the Middle Years Program, explained that all classes in the IB Middle Years Program curriculum are connected or integrated with one another.

A faculty member at St. Mary’s for 12 years, she says being involved with the IB program is gratifying to her as a teacher.

“The best part of the International Baccalaureate program for me is that we have the support and the networking to develop the curriculum to help students become life-long learners,” she explained.

“Teachers feel rewarded when their students seem happy about learning and are able to link what they learn in the classroom to the real world and to global issues,” she added.

Gaining the certification as an International Baccalaureate World School was an involved process, says Dr. Thomas Dertinger, principal of St. Mary’s School.

“First, it’s expensive,” he admitted. “It’s a pretty big commitment.”

Teachers in the middle school program must attend a four-day training program during the school year. The financial cost to the school is expensive since it involves traveling to cities like Miami or Houston to complete category one training. Additional training is offered.

IB officials visited the Richmond school in 2008 and certified the program which had been in operation for two years.

“They had to interview students, parents, teachers and review documents,” Dr. Dertinger said, adding that another team will repeat the process in 2013 to maintain the accreditation as an IB school. He also pointed out that certification is only made after the school program is in operation for two years.

The IB program perhaps has put St. Mary’s School on a firmer foundation. It was only seven years ago that school enrollment had dropped to a new low level which could have caused the school to close.

“It was just before I got here when enrollment really took a dive,” Dr. Dertinger told The Catholic Virginian.

“It was headed in the wrong direction with enrollment down to 310 students.

“We started with 441 students this year,” the principal said. “We’ve grown each of the past five years.”

Upon becoming principal, Dr. Dertinger initiated a plan in which he called together a team of 20 “stakeholders” to develop a strategic plan for the school. The group included people from the school board as well as people from St. Mary’s Parish who did not have children in the school.

“I asked the question ‘How do we want St. Mary’s to look?’” Dr. Dertinger said.

The responses overwhelmingly favored an emphasis on staff development.

“They wanted to make sure the staff got everything they needed to be good teachers,” he said.

Established in 1965 in what was then a newly developing residential neighborhood in western Henrico County, St. Mary’s is now old enough to have a second generation of students from families in which current students have parents who graduated from the school.

“Everybody looks out for one another and there is a real caring and nurturing environment,” he added.

Emily Gould and Hunter Nichols, two 8th grade students who have been at St. Mary’s since kindergarten, spoke with The Catholic Virginian about why they have enjoyed their learning experiences the past nine years.

“What I like about St. Mary’s School is I think the teachers push us to the best of our ability,” Hunter said.

Pointing to the various posters on the wall which teachers place in each classroom, he said, “It’s a good learning environment as you can see from all the posters on the wall.”

Hunter plans to enter Benedictine High School next year and anticipates some other boys from St. Mary’s will be among his classmates.

“I think I will embrace high school with a positive attitude,” Hunter said.

Emily, who has not yet decided which of six schools she will attend next year, said she has always liked the small classes at St. Mary’s.

“We’re able to work closely with the teachers and our peers in the class,” she said. “I am going to miss my friends a lot.”

Over the years she has seen new students in her classes, but says even those who enter in later grade years have an easy transition.

“They file in so smoothly and fit in the 8th grade family,” she explained.

Asked if she had any special memories of her nine years at St. Mary’s, Emily said a highlight was when she was part of the girls basketball team which won the Richmond area private schools championship last year. She remembers playing in most of the game.

“When the final buzzer rang and we had just won, my coach picked me up and swirled me around,” she said. “Walking out of the gym that day with my friends was really cool.”

From its beginning with four homerooms to now 22 homerooms, St. Mary’s School offers two or three sections for each grade from pre-school to pre-k through 8th grade.

“We start at age two and a half in the pre-school program, then have pre-kindergarten for age four years old, then kindergarten at age five,” Dr. Dertinger said.

“It’s pretty evenly distributed,” he added, pointing out that the normal class size is 20.

As a Catholic school, the principal said students and teachers both welcome the frequent visits by the pastor of St. Mary Parish.

“The priests have been terrific,” Dr. Dertinger said. “Father (Walter) Lewis (pastor for 13 years), on behalf of the parish, made the commitment to the school.”

“Father (J. Morton) Biber (most recent former pastor) was a big support and now Father (Michael) Renninger (newly appointed pastor) continues to support the school.”

Approximately 80 percent of the students are Catholic, with 60 percent coming from families belonging to St. Mary Parish and another 20 percent are Catholic but attend another parish.

Mass is celebrated weekly for grades 2-8 in the St. Mary’s Church which adjoins the school. Once a month the whole school gathers for Mass.

“Religion is integrated into every single classroom,” said Sharon Katzman, religion coordinator. “It’s part of everything they do.”

The school day begins with a school-wide Our Father and prayer is interspersed throughout the day.

“They give thanks before their mid-morning snacks, grace is before lunch and said in the classroom, and they typically say a prayer before leaving at the end of the day,” Ms. Katzman said.

When students leave St. Mary’s after 8th grade, they are normally proficient in either Spanish or French in addition to other academic subjects.

Students begin with French in kindergarten, then take Spanish in the first grade and alternate each language every two years. In the 5th grade, they take both French and Spanish with half the year for either language. They then make a decision to continue in the middle school grades (6th, 7th and 8th which this year have a combined enrollment of 111) with either language.

Children seem to have no difficulty learning a new language and then not studying it for a year while they concentrate on either French or Spanish every other year.

“They’re exposed to learning a language and they pick it right up again like a sponge,” said Mercy Thompson, the Spanish teacher.

Mrs. Rooks, the French teacher, agreed. “It’s like riding a bicycle again,” she said.

St. Mary’s offers an After School Care program each weekday from 3 to 6 p.m. with 90 students enrolled. There is a homework room available for those who want to work on their studies. Other options include arts and crafts and outdoor supervised activities

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