History

“A parochial school is our pre-eminent objective and henceforth will dominate all our parish interests,” Msgr. Pelissier wrote in a 1948 letter to his parishioners.  Msgr. felt there was an urgent need for a mission, and it was right in his backyard.  In an effort to plant the seeds of faith and morals into the lives of children from his parish and neighborhood, Msgr. worked tirelessly (as did countless volunteers) to campaign for and build a school.

The school, St. Mary & St. Joseph Parochial School, opened on September 6, 1954.  The second floor was still under construction; 300 students filled the first floor K-6th grades.  The subsequent year, the second floor opened, as did a nurse’s office, an auditorium and the 7th and 8th grade classes, swelling the school to 400 students.

Total cost for the project was $250,000.  Members of the construction committee were Joseph Conery, William Desmarais, Walter Dougoveto, Lyle Hinkley, James McGregor, John Mindok, Joseph Poisson, William Roecher, Edward Verrette and John V. Zanardi.  At the time of construction, there were 29 Catholic elementary schools and six Catholic high schools in the U.P

“I was a second grader on the opening day of classes at our school,” remembers Wayne Phillips, chairman of our Education Council.  “We started every day with a mass at 8 o’clock.  As altar boys, we would get out of class to serve at funerals.”

“May Crowning was a major event,” recalls Pat Covitz, a second-grade student the first year our school was open.  “The church was absolutely full, there were no empty pews.” “We had ‘patrol boys’ made up of 7th and 8th grade boys who helped the younger kids cross the busy street corners around the school,” Phillips said.  “Becoming a ‘Patrol Boy Captain’ was a big deal for me!” Since many students lived nearby, many went home for lunch.  “In the winter time, students were able to skate in the schoolyard during lunch hour.  That was a lot of fun,” Covitz reminisced.  

Our school created and ran a wonderful lunch program.  Students from our school as well as area schools would meet to have lunch in the St. Mary and St. Joseph parish basement each day.  “The favorite lunch was hot turkey sandwiches.  Absolutely,” recalls Maria Landsee, 37-year veteran of the school lunch program.  “The meals were healthy and students enjoyed coming.”  

“Class sizes were large, but it never seemed to bother us as we knew everyone and we thought it was normal,” recalls Phillips.  “My parents were proud supporters of the school.  I am grateful to my parents for giving me the gift of a Catholic school education.”

St. Mary & St. Joseph Parochial School was more than a parish school, it was also a neighborhood school, and it was assumed all parishioners would send their children to the school.  Tuition numbers were never recorded and may have been zero or quite low. 

The school was staffed and run for many years by the Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan.  The sisters lived very near to the school (first behind St. Mary and St. Joseph parish and then where the current Adoration Chapel resides).  The sisters were able to imbue the faith into everything they taught.  Theirs was a zeal and passion for the Catholic faith that was contagious and inspiring to the young students.

Our area also boasted two other Catholic schools, the American Martyrs school opened before ours in 1949 and the Immaculate Conception school started in 1955.  Eventually, enrollment would grow and then recede.  In 1971, Immaculate Conception and our school merged to form Dickinson Area Catholic School, with younger students attending at IC and older students attending our school. 

The school started with a burst of energy, hard work, and zeal, but it was not to last.  Many elements changed in the coming years regarding education and Catholic culture.  The wants and needs of families changed, and many Catholic schools were not able to anticipate these changes. 

For example, due to the large class sizes, the numbers of subjects taught in the early days were few with a reliance on religion and morals, math, writing, reading and grammar.  In subsequent years, parents came to seek out a school that could focus on the faith as well as ensure a more comprehensive educational offering.

Though our school had an explosive beginning and waning in the subsequent decades, our dedication to bringing the Catholic faith to students and families has remained the same.  And we’re growing stronger now than ever.

In an undated letter, Msgr. Pelissier tells his parishioners, “At present time there comes to mind the love of the Good Shepherd for the lambs of his flock; and we know well that just as long ago, His joy was to have the little children about Him, so will our efforts be blessed that again in our portion of the sheepfold the little lambs will be gathered about the Gentle Savior.”

Just three years prior, in 1971, St. Mary and St. Joseph school and Immaculate Conception school merged to create Dickinson Area Catholic School.  At the time, there were five Sisters, including the principal, Sr. Mary Immaculate, staffing the Dickinson Area Catholic School.  They were Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan.    In addition, there were four lay teachers (one woman and three men).  

That same year, the Dickinson Area Catholic School Parent Booster Club was established.   A letter to school parents from Fr. McCarthy and Fr. Donnelly stated, “The consensus of opinion favors such a group. Our ostensible purpose is to give a ‘booster’ shot to our parochial school system. We should also like to give a ‘booster’ shot to you, the parents of the students. The current de-emphasis on family life and the confused system of value priorities, seem to shout for a re-emphasis of our Christian life style.”   Two hundred interested parents attended the first dinner.  The meetings were held four times a year and were intended mainly to be social gatherings.  Meetings were well attended and the Booster Club became an integral part of the school.  The group also raised funds for school needs. One of their first projects was a new school bus--sponsoring a carnival featuring Skerbeck Shows raised the majority of the funds.

The Sisters’ convent was next to the school on “B” Street. To the right of the convent was a fenced-in area, which was part of the playground (where the current adoration chapel resides). The middle school students played basketball in that area, affectionately referred to as “the cage”.

At this time, first through third grade students attended school at the north side building, located at Immaculate Conception parish in Iron Mountain. A kindergarten class was added in 1975.  Fourth grade through eighth grade classes were held at our current school building.

Fran Cavalieri and Bob Olivanti, Middle School teachers at DACS from 1968-1998, have fond memories of DACS.  They recall that Sr. Dorothy, then principal,  was an advocate of the Iron Mountain-Kingsford Community School program.  It was during her tenure that Community Schools hired teachers to work on a part-time basis at DACS.  They provided instruction in art, music, French, physical education, remedial math and language arts.

Sr. Dorothy left in 1980 and Mary Brien was named the first lay principal of the school.  Two Dominican Sisters remained on the staff, Sr. Mary Margaret Fornicola (aka Sr. Peggy) and Sr. Therese Reynolds.  Sr. Peggy recalls several reasons for the decreasing numbers of religious sisters in Catholic schools.  “When they became Sisters, there weren’t many options for ministry and most of the nuns in my order became teachers. As new ministries opened up, some Sisters remained in teaching, some became involved in parish work, others were in music ministry and some moved back home to care for elderly family members.”

A major milestone for the school came in 1986 when DACS was designated as a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. The Secretary of Education established the Blue Ribbon Schools Program in 1982.  It has since developed into a national school improvement program with three purposes:

1. Identify and recognize outstanding public and private schools across the nation.

2.  Make research-based effectiveness available to all schools for improvements.  

3.  Encourage schools to share information about best practices.

DACS was one of sixty-nine private schools and 212 public schools recognized nationally as a model of excellence and quality that year.  Principal Mary Brien, Sr. Peggy and Bob Olivanti traveled to Washington, D.C. to receive the award.  Sr. Peggy said, “We were honored to go and were treated like royalty.” Bob recalls the ceremony took place in the White House Rose Garden with President Reagan.  

DACS was alerted of the award program through the Council on American Private Education.  The school applied for and received an extensive questionnaire dealing with the quality of instruction, school programs, community service, extracurricular activities, and fulfillment of school mission.  The second step of the evaluation process was an on-site visit by two members of the Blue Ribbon Program council.  The visitors toured both school buildings to confirm the questionnaire responses and get a sense of the school’s atmosphere.  At this time, the school boasted an enrollment of 271 students in K-8th grade.

Just a few short years later, the decision to hold all classes at the “B” Street location was made in 1988.  In 1983, a Capital Campaign was initiated to procure funds for a permanent endowment for DACS.  Many volunteers went door-to-door seeking funds.  The Campaign raised $275,406 from 1982-1993.  These funds are invested through the Diocesan Investment Pool.  Only the interest generated from these funds is available for use by our school.  Primarily, we utilize these funds to offset general expenses.  The Bishop Baraga Catholic School Education Foundation oversees the Endowment Fund.

In 1998, a home on the east side of the playground was placed on the market.  Our school purchased and eventually razed it to extend our playground.  Most recently, in 2011-12, the BBCS Parent Association raised funds to purchase playground equipment for the pre-kindergarten.

Our school works to have the most technologically advanced equipment available for staff and student use. Thanks to volunteers, in 1998, the school was wired for computer networking.  As equipment became obsolete, it was replaced through the help of faithful donors, bequests, volunteers and the Parent Association.  In 2009, the school partnered with Iron Mountain Public Schools to provide Power School for teacher, student, parent and administrative use.  This has been a great online communication tool regarding grades, bulk mailings and group emails as well as lunch money balances, and a repository for parent contact info.   In 2010-11, our school added a wireless network.   Students enjoy utilizing the iPads that were purchased in 2012 and new laptops were also acquired in 2014 for computer lab and classroom use.

The Eucharistic Adoration Chapel was established in the convent of the Dominican Sisters, which was located next to the school.  In 2000, the current Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Eucharistic Adoration Chapel was constructed on the corner of “B” Street and Stockbridge Avenue.

The Sisters were no longer living in the convent and the building was demolished.  Our current pick-up line travels through the area where the convent would be.  The chapel is a blessing to our school as different classes visit through the year.

In January 2003, a fire destroyed the interior of St. Mary and St. Joseph Church, the parish where our students attend weekly Mass.  During the restoration, the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church graciously offered their church for the student Masses and school events until September 2004 when restoration of St. Mary and St. Joseph was complete.

In the summer of 2003, the school met the requirements for a daycare license, allowing for the initiation of a licensed pre-kindergarten program.  Just last fall (2014), a licensed three-year-old program was added.  Extended day pre-K and after school care are also available to families.  

Many steps have been taken over the past twenty years to provide for student safety.  Beginning in 2003, new windows and fire doors were installed throughout the building, telephones were placed in every room, the PA system was updated and emergency plans were adopted.  Further ensuring student safety, beginning in 2014 the entry doors are now locked during the school day as visitors must identify themselves before being admitted to the building. This spring (2015), new floor bolts were installed to enable individual classrooms to be securely locked down in the event of an emergency.

In June 2007, Bishop Alexander Sample’s Catholic Schools Task Force released a Strategic Plan for Catholic Schools.  The Implementation Plan requested that, “Each school should  bear the name of a Patron Saint, reference to the Divine Persons, or other historical Catholic figures.” In order to align with the Plan, the Dickinson Area Catholic School Board of Education wrote to Bishop Sample requesting that he select the new school name from three suggestions.  In October 2007, the Board voted to accept Bishop Sample’s preference to name the school after Bishop Frederic Baraga, first Bishop of the Diocese of Marquette.  On June 5, 2009, our school name was officially changed to Bishop Baraga Catholic School.

Bishop Sample was an active and faithful proponent of Catholic Education.  During his tenure, the Diocese took a more active role in the Catholic schools as they began to treat the nine Catholic schools as one school system.  Currently, the schools are in the process of transitioning to a new Catholic liberal arts curriculum.  This dedication to schools continues today as Bishop John Doerfler approved the foundations document of the curriculum in 2014.  

A small task force met with Bishop John Doerfler in spring 2014 to begin exploration of the idea to extend our school to the high school years.  Bishop John was enthusiastic about the project, even creating a video welcome for our first major fundraiser, the Bishop Baraga Legacy Dinner in the winter of 2015.  Since this meeting, we have worked to raise funds to open in fall 2016.    

Securing adequate funding for Catholic Schools is ongoing.  Necessary building improvements were made possible through parish subsidies, third-source funding and the generosity of countless donors.  A large portion of the school’s third source funding came from endowment funds invested in the Diocese of Marquette Investment Pool.  In recent years, three new BBCS funds have been added. They include: Caroline T. Trapasso Tuition Scholarship Fund, Msgr. Charles Elmer School Endowment Fund and Ron and Diana Tortelli Scholarship Fund. The Tortellis continue to match dollar donations to their scholarship fund up to a maximum of $50,000.

Families, students and staff have fond memories of the many projects/activities that took place during the past twenty years.   Some favorites remain the Religion Bee, trips to Mackinac Island, lock-ins and dances, Catholic Schools Week, May Crowning, dinner auctions, 8th grade trips, Advent preparation, Enrichment Day, Family Groups and school picnics.  Many have become school tradition as we carry them forward each year.

Although many things have changed, the principles that Bishop Baraga Catholic School were founded on remain the same:  Excellence in Academics, Fostering the Faith and Training up in Virtues. Our founding father, Monsignor Albert Pelissier, the man who worked tirelessly to fundraise, build and finally begin our school in 1954, would be proud!  We thank you for your participation in our history and look forward to working with you to continue the mission of our school well into the future!