Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic School plans centennial celebration
One hundred years ago in Aspinwall, St. Scholastica School was formed to provide Catholic education to children in the St. Scholastica Parish, which was established in 1895.
Now, 100 years later, the name may have changed, but the core mission of providing a traditional Catholic education to area youth remains.
The former St. Scholastic is now called Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy and is a Pittsburgh Diocesan Regional elementary school educating students in grades pre-kindergarten through eight.
A centennial celebration to commemorate 100 years is planned for Sept. 6 on campus.
“Join us as we honor our past, celebrate our present and look with hope to the future of Catholic education in our community,” said Melissa Mazza, marketing and admissions manager at CDTCA. “Come be a part of this special milestone as we honor a century of tradition, community and excellence.
St. Scholastica was renamed Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy in 1997 when six local parishes within the Fox Chapel Area School District formed a consortium to combat rising operating costs.
Originally founded in 1925 by the Millvale Franciscan Sisters, the school accepts students of all faiths and is the sole elementary school remaining in Aspinwall.
Two expansions at the school were required as enrollment swelled, in 1926, grade seven was added and grade eight was created the following year.
In 1959, an addition was added to the school located at the corner of Third Street and Brilliant Avenue.
Later, kindergarten was added and most recently, a pre-K program for ages 3-4.
Technology is a key component for students, with kindergarteners and first-graders using tablets, Chromebooks used by middle-schoolers and new smart boards in every classroom.
In 2024, CDTCA joined the Pittsburgh East Regional Catholic Elementary Schools.
Anne Fitzgerald Duggan of Indiana Township lived in Fox Chapel as a child and attended St. Scholastic, graduating eighth grade with 31 classmates in 1974.
Duggan has remained best friends with Peggy Patterson Versaw, who she met in first grade.
Duggan recalled monthly Mass attendance, bringing a from-home lunch and wearing skirts.
Handwriting was a graded course and diagramming sentences was taught by lay teachers and nuns.
“When the hot lunch showed up in seventh grade, that was a big deal,” Duggan said. “I have nothing but good things to say about my years there. I feel very fortunate to go sit in the same pews that I sat in when I was a student. I think Catholic education is so important to our society and that we can continue to offer it to people. There’s no doubt in my mind the church is experiencing a resurgence and your faith allows you to get through the challenges of life.”
Duggan and her husband raised four now-adult children, all of whom graduated from CDTCA.
For Duggan, seeing her beloved alma mater open and thriving after 10o years is fulfilling.
“It’s great and we are blessed that the school is still open. That school has always been small but mighty. There is something unique about how those kids had to get along with everybody because there wasn’t a new crop of friends coming in every year,” Duggan now.
The school enrolls more than 150 students from 10 neighboring school districts.
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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