In 1992, the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary informed our parish community that it would be withdrawing from St. Anastasia Parish School due to the dwindling number of nuns available. The shockwave rattled our parish and the departure was fraught with apprehension, but also with opportunity. The first order of business was the hiring Louis P. D’Angelo as principal, who brought a new perspective to Catholic education. While the school was poised to enter the 21^st century, it was clear that staying competitive would require new thinking and new educational programs.

With this in mind, a small group made up of parents, pastor Father Shellem and Principal D’Angelo began to meet regularly with the goal of exploring new opportunities. One of the first issues addressed was the recognition that we needed a full day kindergarten and pre-k, as this would enable a smooth transition into our elementary school. A marketing committee was also developed, which explored various ways to highlight the academic achievements of our students, the opportunities for individual growth, and community outreach. However, this also brought increased expenses and questions of sustainability, which we responded to by the formation of the endowment fund as the way to address future costs that would not be covered by tuition or parish giving. While many non-profit organizations and schools of higher learning were deeply invested in this concept, no Philadelphia area Catholic grade school had ever undertaken such an adventure.

As all of the Catholic grade schools are under the control of the Archdiocese, we needed its approval before we could move forward. One of the key sticking points was the control of the investments. Eventually, as set forth in the Trust Agreement, a Board would be created and the monies collected would be invested in accordance with Archdiocesan guidelines with a conservative investment strategy. On November 11, 1996, the Memorial Agreement was executed with the stated purpose of “to assist Saint Anastasia School by receiving capital and other assets to be used to defray school operating expenses and/or school capital expenditures and/or tuition assistance to needy students attending Saint Anastasia School.” In April 1997 the parish commenced its initial fundraising with a goal of $1,000,000, which we were able to meet through the support of the parish community.

Since that time, enrollment has continued to increase, new programs have been added, and a new school has been constructed. Today, we continue to be faced with rising costs to meet the evolving needs of our students. While being the first Catholic grade school to have an endowment fund is laudable, every member of our parish and community benefits from an academically strong school and the development of our children; thus, we must continue to sustain the Fund.