St. Charles School History

St. Charles School was dedicated on October 1, 1922. It was constructed with parish funds and a donation from Bishop Denis J. O'Connell. The two-story school with four classrooms on the first floor and an auditorium on the second was staffed by the Benedictine Sisters of Bristow, VA. A house on Lawton Street, now called Hudson Street, was purchased as a convent.

Expecting a big increase in enrollment after WWII, Bishop Peter Ireton gave Father Leonard Koster, then pastor of St. Charles, approval for a new building to educate 400 students and for a staff of nine teachers to teach them. A new 10 room building with an adjoining convent was opened in 1955.

Sister Benedict Kesock O.S.B. arrived in 1973 and became principal in 1976. She immediately saw the need to re-open the kindergarten, which had been closed for several years. Sister Benedict and the Pastor, Father Thomas Casey, established a Board of Regents to serve as advisors to the Pastor and principal. The Board continues as a valuable resource today.

In 1986, the school received a new mandate to continue to provide Catholic education to children, regardless of race, parish, or church affiliation. To better serve the needs of parents, Sister Benedict established a before and after school "extended day" program in 1988.

With the demographic changes in Arlington, St. Charles School began accepting students from outlying suburbs, Fort Myer Army Post, and Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.

In 1991, a new playground was constructed and dedicated to the memory of kindergarten teacher Dina Ryan. Maintaining pace with the information technology revolution, St. Charles School went "on-line" in the 90s with computer-assisted learning but has continued to emphasize a basic core curriculum to serve the "whole" child.

The new millennium begins with the parish raising funds for a major construction project that will mean renovations to the school and the building of a gymnasium facility.

In the future, as in the past, we are committed to providing high-quality education in an atmosphere of warmth, cheerfulness, and understanding.

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Revised/reviewed June 20, 2000