Building a new I.C. School in Jefferson City
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A vision that has been years in the making has taken a major step forward.
Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell and a group of people representing Immaculate Conception Parish and School in Jefferson City broke ground April 14 for a new, 49,150-square-foot school building scheduled to open in the Fall of 2027.
The state-of-the-art facility will serve kindergarten through eighth grade, housing a media center, art, vocal music and resource rooms, counseling offices, and administrative spaces.
“The psalmist tells us, ‘If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do we labor,’” said Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell. “There is no vanity here. There is humble and dedicated service, and I’m grateful for it.”
Students, school and diocesan officials, local dignitaries, faculty and staff, parish families, alumni and members of the parish’s visioning team gathered on the parking lot between the current school building and the site of the new school for the ceremony.
This marked the official beginning of the $20.25 million first phase of the three-phase, estimated $40 million project (https://visioningic.com/).
The new school will rise on the site of a neighboring former grocery store the parish purchased about 20 years ago.
“This is such an exciting and wonderful day,” said Father Matthew Flatley, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish.
A large portion of the school’s current facilities are near the end of their useful life.
“This is about responding to a growing need,” said Principal Heather Schrimpf, who is an I.C. School graduate and lifelong I.C. parishioner.
Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word opened the school in 1914, a year after Immaculate Conception parish was established. The school grew into its present configuration through piecemeal additions in the decades that followed.
It currently serves 310 students. The new building will accommodate up to 450 students in grades K-8 and 50 pre-K students.
$18.5 million, nearly 90 percent of the Phase 1 goal, has already been raised.
Mrs. Schrimpf said the new school will benefit students and families with a safe, modern and faith-filled environment designed to support learning, strengthen community and deepen their relationship with Christ — now and for years to come.
She said the new school will be more than a building.
“It will be a home for learning, faith and formation,” she stated. “It will allow us to bring our students together in a safe, modern environment designed to support academic excellence and our Catholic identity.”
“Here, students will grow not only in knowledge but in their relationship with Christ, learning to serve others and live out their faith every day,” she said.
Mrs. Schrimpf spoke of positive enrollment trends and a strong interest from families in providing a high-quality, faith-filled non-public education for their children, rooted in Catholic values.
“Our community is strong!” she stated. “And today, we make an important step to ensure that we are ready to meet that need for generations to come.”
Designed for learning
Parishioner Nick Borgmeyer of SOA Architecture in Columbia, the lead architect for the first phase of the new school, said this is one of the most meaningful projects he’s ever worked on.
“It represents years — really a decade — of collaborative effort by pastors and parish leadership, teachers and staff, parents and grandparents, donors, volunteers and generations of parishioners who planned not for themselves but for those who would follow them,” he said.
Phase 1 includes a new, two-story building containing classrooms, a media center with small breakout rooms and a computer lab, art and vocal music classrooms, resource and counseling spaces, administrative offices and a new entry and elevator lobby serving both the new school and the existing gymnasium and Kennedy Hall multipurpose room.
Mr. Borgmeyer said the new school is designed around how children learn and grow.
“Alongside traditional classrooms, there will be informal collaboration spaces — small nooks throughout the building that support group work, reflection and everyday interaction,” he said.
He pointed out that a roof garden will supplement the middle-school science classroom, and an outdoor native-landscaped classroom, “developed in partnership with dedicated parishioners and the Missouri Department of Conservation” — will give students opportunities to engage directly with creation.
The new facility will include designated playgrounds.
“They will no longer need to double as parking lots after school hours,” said Mr. Borgmeyer, “and the green space will be directly connected to classrooms, making outdoor learning part of everyday school life.”
“An act of love”
A key focus for the three-phase campus master plan developed through cooperation between professionals and I.C. parishioners is unity and security.
Students are currently spread out in buildings separated by parking lots. The new construction will bring all school programs under one roof.
“This strengthens relationships, improves safety and reinforces that this is one school community,” said Mr. Borgmeyer.
This phase will also include the removal of the aging south portion of what is now known as Pleus Hall, home to middle-school classrooms.
Hardwood flooring from that facility will be salvaged and made into decorative ceiling panels at the entrance to the new school. Bricks and foundation stones will be salvaged and reused for paving paths in the outdoor classroom.
Future phases will include a second gymnasium, room for the preschool, and removal of most of the existing school buildings. The original part of Pleus Hall, which was the parish’s first church, and the Incarnate Word Building, which served as the convent, will be renovated.
“What we break ground on today is a sign of respect for our parish’s history and an act of love for the children and families who will learn here for generations,” said Mr. Borgmeyer.
“The spaces we create quietly teach care, dignity and belonging,” he stated. “My hope is that years from now, a former I.C. student will stand here, not remembering the technical details of this facility, but remembering that this was a place where they were known, supported, challenged and loved.”
Humbling work
Sean Schulte, president of Curtiss-Manes-Schulte Inc., the general contractor for the project, introduced Kevin Messerli, who will be the on-site superintendent.
“While church projects can present many challenges, they are also among the most rewarding work we do,” said Mr. Schulte. “It is truly humbling to consider the lasting impact this new building, a tool entrusted to I.C. by God, will have on the thousands of children who pass through these halls.”
Bishop O’Donnell pointed out to the students that adults who once occupied their classrooms “20 or 40 or 50 or 60 years ago” were standing in support all around them.
He spoke of how each of the students come from homes where they are cared for, energized and nourished.
“As a community, we are continuing to build facilities for that care to take shape anew, for your faith and formation, as it has been doing for generations,” he said.
The bishop prayed over and blessed the site of the construction, asking God to keep everyone who works on the project safe.
He also prayed “for all who will visit and see this good work to be inspired to praise God’s holy name, and for our students and families that we serve, that this may be a symbol of God’s love and perpetual care for them.”
The students and the rest of the assembly erupted in cheers and applause as the bishop and other participants, including a representative of the I.C. student council, used matching shovels to turn over dirt on the project site.
Students were served “dirt cake” for dessert at lunch in celebration of the occasion.
“Bigger and better”
A group of third-graders offered candid observations about the ceremony and the new school they hope to move into when they’re fifth-graders.
“I think it’s great that they’re making a new school,” said Hazel.
“It will be brand new,” said Grady.
“It will be really nice,” said Eliana.
“It’s going to be bigger and better,” said Emerson.
“It’s really cool,” said Madison.
“It will be nice for everybody to be under one roof,” said Grame.
“I’m excited for the new library,” said Ari.
“I’m excited for the elevator,” said Dillyn.
“It was very cool to see the bishop,” said Carp.
Ali said he’s excited to watch the new school get built.
After the ceremony, construction workers got back to the clangorous work of clearing the site and preparing it for construction.
