ELMHURST — When Kristina Djurovic, a sixth grade teacher at St. Bartholomew Catholic Academy in Elmhurst, stands in front of her classroom and looks at her students these days, there are a lot more pairs of eyes looking back at her.
That’s because Djurovic’s sixth grade class has nearly doubled in size since last term.
“Last year, I had 15 (students) and this year I have 28,” she said, adding that many of the newcomers are transfers from public schools whose parents are seeking values along with academics for their children’s education. “I do think that kids’ parents are realizing that their children should be learning morals and values, which is what we stand for.”
The increased number of students in Djurovic’s class is a reflection of St. Bartholomew Catholic Academy as a whole.
The school’s enrollment has jumped an impressive 21% since September 2022 — the largest increase of any academy in the Diocese of Brooklyn, according to the Office of the Superintendent.
And the growth at St. Bartholomew is showing no signs of slowing down. The enrollment increased 12% since June and now stands at 175 students.
The school has classes from kindergarten to eighth grade. Three-quarters of the students are Hispanic and many come from homes where their parents speak only Spanish. A handful of students are the children of migrants who recently came to the U.S. through the southern border. Another 15% of the students are Asian.
School officials point to two things helping to fuel the upturn in enrollment: 1) public school transfers and 2) Hispanic parents, many of them immigrants, whose faith runs deep and who want their children to get a Catholic education.
“One of the things that parents tell me when we’re speaking is they want their child to be safe, or they want their child to be closer to God,” said Principal Grettel Dominguez. “Just hearing that fills my heart with so much love and because that’s what our school is all about.”
Another reason could be Dominguez herself, who has become a determined advocate and salesperson for her school.
Dominguez has spoken after Masses in St. Bartholomew Church, posted flyers in a nearby shopping mall, dropped off information for educational directors at daycare centers and pre-K programs and regularly advertises her school’s virtues on social media. She has even put up flyers in local restaurants to spread the word.
“That’s basically been my strategy for the past few months,” explained Dominguez, who has been at St. Bartholomew for six years and was a teacher and assistant principal before earning the top job.
Msgr. David Cassato, vicar for Catholic schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn, said that what St. Bartholomew Catholic Academy has accomplished is nothing short of astounding.
“It’s amazing! Of course, it comes down to having a great school. But it’s also recruitment. You have to get out there and let people know how wonderful your school is. And that’s what this principal is doing,” he said.
Another selling point is the wide array of extracurricular activities available, including a robotics team and a drama club.
“I have a lot of fun here,” said Isaiah Peralta, a sixth grader who has been a St. Bartholomew student since kindergarten. He loves robotics and plans to take part in a debate club.
He has heard about kids getting bullied at public school. “It’s more safe here. Here, there’s not really time for bullying,” he added.
Isaiah’s mom, Norma Rivas, said she’s impressed by the school’s rigorous standards. “To me, academically, this school is better than other schools,” she said in Spanish as Dominguez interpreted for her.
Last spring, when the results of statewide reading and math tests were released, Dominguez compared her school’s scores with some of the surrounding public schools and said her kids scored 40% to 50% higher.
For Joselito Espina, a father of two St. Bartholomew students, it all comes down to a Catholic education. Originally from the Philippines, where 90% of the population is Catholic, he said it’s important for him to have his kids in a Catholic school.
“My children have to be here at this school and hopefully when they graduate, they will go to a Catholic high school,” he added.