Gorman Celebrates Golden Jubilee Anniversary
50th Anniversary Mass (Homily) Part 1
50th Anniversary Mass (Homily) Part 2
To open the jubilee year, students and faculty began the day in similar manner as students and faculty began the school year September 2, 1958: gathering together for the prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. The students and faculty remembered the original students in Grades 7-10 and the teachers who opened the only Catholic high school in East Texas. (See Prayer Ceremony attachment below.)
On the same day the Gorman community celebrated mass with Bishop Alvaro Corrada bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, as main celebrant. After the mass, students, staff, families and friends began fifty continuous hours of prayer and Eucharistic adoration in the school chapel.
Catholic schooling began in Tyler, Texas in 1893 when St. Joseph’s Academy opened, operated by the Benedictine Sisters. This attempt at Catholic schooling, however, did not last long. Fifty two years later Immaculate Conception parish laid the cornerstone for St. Gregory Catholic Elementary School. In 1945 the first group of school Sisters of Notre Dame came to Tyler to teach a student body of 102 students at St. Gregory’s. Within ten years increasing demand and support for higher education in the Catholic School System brought forth plans to build a high school facility. In 1956, under the direction of Msgr. Vincent Wolfe, pastor of Immaculate Conception, land was purchased in south Tyler for the establishment of a Catholic high school. Two years later Tyler Catholic High opened on September 2, 1958.
The dedication ceremony for this school took place on October 5, 1958 with Bishop Thomas Kieley Gorman presiding. In 1970, the school was renamed in his honor. Bishop T. K. Gorman Catholic School and St. Gregory Catholic Elementary School now form the Tyler Catholic School System.
The early years of the school were guided by the efforts of Msgr. Edward McCoullough and Msgr. John V. McCallum along with the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Msgr. McCallum is credited with directing the school towards a college preparatory format. The current high school gym and football field were built under his guidance; the stadium bears his name. The school struggled with finances and morale even in the early years, but many people sacrificed to make sure the school stayed open.
In the 70’s and 80’s Pastor Msgr. Milam Joseph lead the school system through more than 20 years of growth including the construction of the Middle School wing at Bishop Gorman Catholic School in 1981. The Middle School facility and gym currently serve as a community center for both school and parish functions.
In the early 90’s the school fought declining enrollment, administrative and faculty instability and a spiraling debt which lead to talk of the school closing. The decade ended however on a much more positive note when Gorman was the first school in East Texas to be named a United States Department of Education Blue Ribbon Exemplary School. In more recent years the school has seen increased enrollment, increased stability with faculty and administration and a balanced operating budget.
The 21st century has been very strong for Bishop Gorman. The school is one of only eleven Catholic High Schools in the United States to be named a Top 50 Catholic High School by the Acton Institute for four years in a row. The academic addition of eleven advanced placement classes has enabled students to be well prepared for college. In addition, recent physical plant additions of an all weather track (2000), a Fine Arts classroom wing (2003), a renovated Haddad high school gym with restored performance areas and new air conditioning (2005) and major renovations in the Holy Family Library (2007) have all helped Gorman students find success in curricular and co-curricular activities.
In 2008, the school has record enrollment with 413 students as well as very strong faculty and staff stability (current teacher retention is over 93%). Over 50% of the Class of 2008 entered college with a passing grade on at least one Advanced Placement Exam, a success rate over three times the national average and significantly greater than the Texas average. The fifty-two graduates in the Class of 2008 all went on to post secondary collegiate institutions. The class received over $2.5 million dollars in scholarships.
See Tyler Morning Telegraph Article Here: http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20080831/NEWS08/808310325/-1/NEWS
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| 50th Anniversary Flag Ceremony1.pdf | 32.22 KB |