St John of the Cross Catholic School, 8175 Lemon Grove Way, Lemon Grove, CA 91945, US

HistorySaint Charles Borromeo Parish was established in 1946 by Bishop Charles Buddy to serve the residents of Loma Portal and the large government housing project of the Midway area. The church complex was built directly across from the main gate of the Naval Training Center. The founding pastor, Monsignor Joseph N. Trivisonno, and the original parishioners set out to build a church, a school and convent. All of this was accomplished in a short space of time, and the newly created Saint Charles Borromeo Parish became a vibrant Catholic community. In 1947, just one year after the parish was founded, the academy was established. The academy opened on September 18, 1947, with grades kindergarten through eight.An order of religious women from Staten Island, New York, the Daughters of Divine Charity, provided twelve sisters to staff the school. They were the only order which had given a favorable reply to 120 requests for educators to orders of women religious throughout the country. The Daughters of Divine Charity continued to work at the academy and provided a principal for the school until 1986. Since 1986, the school has had a lay person as administrator and has had a faculty of lay and religious members.The summer of 1995 brought many structural changes to our school as the Sound Attenuation Project was implemented through the San Diego Port District. Renovations were done to lessen the impact of the noise from Lindbergh Field Airport. In 2001the PTG modernized the computer lab and began plans for a preschool. 2003 marked the beginning of the implementation of the CoreKnowledge Curriculum.In 2008 Saint Charles opened its very successful Preschool. The Preschool offers education for three and four year-olds in a completely renovated facility that formerly served as the convent. The sparkling staff brings a special magic to the lives of the students. An expanded Library was established in the same year.Recent additions to the academic program include a dynamic Science curriculum to compliment the Pre-Algebra and Algebra progams for the Junior High grades, with specialized teachers for both programs, Spanish and Band instruction. A very successful sports progam is a tradition at Saint Charles.The arrival of our current pastor, Fr.William Kernan, has brought a complete exterior renovation of the main school complex including new paint and a replacent of the original tile roof restoring the facility to its original beauty. The summer of 2010 will see a resurfacing of the parking area. These improvements, in tough economic times, demonstrate the Parish's continued commitment to Catholic education at Saint Charles.Many of our students are the children and grandchildren of former students of Saint Charles. This progression not only underlines the success of the school over the years but also, like an extended family, provides a tremendous foundation upon which the next generation will be built. It is significant to note the continued involvement of grandparents in the operation of the school. The volunteer effort of parents, grandparents and parishoners both affords the opportunity to offer a faith based, quality education at a reasonable price and, more importantly, instills a magnificent Christian spirit within the school.