About Us

Mission Statement

Saint Cecelia Interparochial School celebrates the uniqueness of each person as a child of God while we proclaim the Gospel message, pray together, build community, and serve others. We encourage students to open their hearts to God, their minds to learning, and their talents to service.  We affirm that a strong spiritual formation based on the traditions and values of the Catholic Church and an excellent academic foundation will prepare our students to be responsible and effective members of the world community.

History

1948 – Father Colreavy and the Sisters of the Holy Name open St. Cecelia School with 60 students in grades one through six in the renovated St. Cecelia Church rectory.
1951 - Enrollment triples and ground is broken for a new school on the corner of Hillcrest Avenue and Court Street.  The school expanded to eight grades and eventually to ten prior to the completion of CCCHS.
1959 – Enrollment is now at 500 students.  A new wing is built to accommodate the increase in students. The number of classrooms increases from eight to eighteen.
1960 – A cafetorium, library and a music department are added.  A fine arts program is started.
1969 – St. Cecelia becomes an Interparochial School.  An art teacher is hired and the library is expanded.
1978 – A Youth Center is added to the facilities allowing for improvements in extra-curricular programs.
1980 – St. Cecelia School received its first computers and a full-time computer and resource teacher are added to the staff.
1994 – A new primary building is constructed along with a beautiful new Chapel.
2000 – A Middle School featuring a science lab and a computer lab is built in addition to the new administrative offices.
2005 – The Garden of Peace & Prayer was designed and completed in the courtyard.
Inscribed bricks, benches, and Stations of the Cross beautify the area.
2006 – A comprehensive safety plan was created.
2007 – Our 5- year Strategic Plan was designed.
2009 – The St. Cecelia School Advisory Commission received the Outstanding Board Award for 2009.  Our board was one of nine school boards in the United States to be selected for this prestigious award.
2009 - St. Cecelia School receives a perfect score of 200 on the VPK Readiness Rate.
2010- St. Cecelia School is named a National Blue Ribbon School by the US Department of Education.

SCS continues to look toward the future through strategic planning and school improvement designs.  We are fully accredited through the Florida Catholic Conference, a licensed accreditation agency in the state of Florida.  70% of our teachers hold Master degrees.  Core subjects of Religion, Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies are taught daily.  Students are enriched with the addition of Art, Dance, Drama, Choir, Music, Spanish, Technology, and a wide variety of clubs, ministries, and service projects.

Henry Brooks Adams wrote, “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”  Join the dedicated teachers of St. Cecelia School by becoming our partner in providing an excellent education and future for your child.
 

Accreditation

In 1972, the school was fully accredited by the Florida Catholic Conference, a licensed accreditation agency in the state of Florida. This accreditation has been renewed yearly since that time. The Florida Catholic Conference again accredited the school in 1984, 1991,1998 and 2005.

2010 Gold Seal accredited from the National Council for Private School Accreditation.

Awards
2010 National Blue Ribbon Award Winner
The Blue Ribbon Schools program is a United States Government program created to honor schools. The Blue Ribbon Award is considered the highest honor an American school can achieve. The selection process to become a Blue Ribbon School includes an extensive application. The application is reviewed by a selection committee, which looks at the overall leadership and commitment to using best practices in order to foster an educational environment that promotes a child to succeed. St. Cecelia School students scored in the top ten percent of the nation in reading and mathematics in the highest grade tested. There were seven public and private schools awarded in the state of Florida, St. Cecelia being one of the seven.

2009 National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) Outstanding Board Award
In the spring of 2009, the St. Cecelia School Advisory commission received a very prestigious award in Anaheim CA from the FCC. We were chosen as one of nine school boards in the United States to receive The Outstanding Board Award for 2009 for our strategic plan and efforts to keep SCS innovative and compliant with best practices.

2009 St. Cecelia School received a perfect score of 200 on the VPK readiness rate.