St. Pius X School Celebrates 60th Anniversary

Tulsa, Okla.—On August 15, St. Pius X will welcome students to the first day of school for the 60 ^th time in its history. On Saturday, August 19, the St. Pius X Church & School Community will celebrate the start of this anniversary year at their annual Feast Day Picnic (see details below).

In 1957, St. Pius X opened a small parish school serving neighborhood children in first through sixth grades. At the time, the school consisted of two pre-fabricated barracks buildings that had recently arrived by railroad from Fort Chaffee in Fort Smith, Ark. A group of 60 St. Pius parishioners, all of whom worked in professions and trades other than construction, banded together to assemble the buildings and get them ready to serve as classrooms.  Pastor at the time, Fr. Gerald Phee, recruited young builder, Robert Vance, to construct affordable family homes around the school, and families flocked to the budding neighborhood that became Moeller Heights.  Students attended Mass once a week in the Moeller family’s barn that served as St. Pius X Church until 1964.

Despite it’s humble beginnings, St. Pius X School was the largest Catholic grade school in Tulsa with 559 students in attendance by 1964. In 1996, the school was designated a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education. Many contemporary teachers and students of St. Pius X School are children or grandchildren of early parishioners. The parents who constructed those pre-fab buildings in the 1950's are now grandparents seated next to their grandchildren at Friday All-School Masses.
 
St. Pius boasts alumni including National Merit Scholars, a Cy Young award-winning Major League Baseball pitcher, TV personalities, priests and successful leaders across the Tulsa community. Some students still walk to school from their homes in Moeller Heights, but students now also hail from 37 zip codes across the Tulsa Metro.

According to Principal Lisa Bell, “This school has served the Tulsa community for 60 years, and we still we will start this school year with 39 new families. It’s a testament to the welcoming spirit at St. Pius X, and our hope for the future.”

This year, the incoming 371-member student body will start school in grades Pre-K 3-year-old through eighth grade on a modern campus that was recently completed in July 2016.  New classroom buildings, including a science lab, art room, motor skills room, administrative offices and two FEMA-approved storm shelters, were the vision of Bell and current pastor, Fr. Matt Gerlach.

New buildings now housing all students under one roof for the first time in the school’s history are the result of a four-year Capital Campaign, funded in large part by St. Pius X parishioners.  Gerlach, who attended St. Pius as a student from 1976 to 1984, credits the continued success of the school to a strong school and parish community. “Together, our community builds and sustains academic excellence, a strong Catholic-Christian presence, and a rich diversity that mirrors our society today.”

 A complete history with photos of the school can be found at  http://school.spxtulsa.org/apps/pages/schoolhistory.

  St. Pius X Feast Day Picnic
Saturday, August 19^th following 5pm Mass
Dinner, family games, music and fellowship. 
RSVP at http://bit.ly/2hs6XvY