Memories remain vivid of the F4 tornado that roared through La Plata, Maryland 20 years ago in April 2002, when the storm destroyed the Archbishop Neale School building, but fortunately hit on a Sunday evening when there were no students or staff members there.
“That was terrifying. It was very scary. We were left not knowing what to do in the beginning,” said Cathy Robinson, who was then teaching first grade at the school.
Her whole classroom was destroyed, but somehow a statue of Mary remained, standing on a shelf.
Now teaching the fourth grade and in her 28th year at Archbishop Neale School, Robinson remembered how “we all came together (then). Within a week, we were up and running.” That spring, the school shifted its classes to rooms at First Baptist Church of La Plata and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in White Plains.
Then that fall of 2002, Archbishop Neale School students attended classes in modular buildings near Sacred Heart Church in La Plata, and ground was broken for a new school, on the 75th anniversary of its founding.
The new Archbishop Neale School opened in January 2004, a modern two-story building with reinforced construction to help withstand storms, 20,000 square feet larger than the old school. The new school included a library, media center, full-size gymnasium and larger classrooms. An army of volunteers, including many parents, helped move furniture in the building and paint its walls, just as they salvaged materials in the wreckage of the former school building after the tornado.
“We were just awestruck at how beautiful it was, how spacious. We were overwhelmed,” Robinson said.
This year marks Archbishop Neale School’s 95th anniversary. It was founded as Sacred Heart School in La Plata in 1927, one year after a tornado killed 13 children at a public school there, including some who were Sacred Heart parishioners. No public storm warning systems existed then. The school opened with 28 students and was staffed by four Immaculate Heart of Mary sisters.
In 1952, it was renamed as Archbishop Neale School, named for the second archbishop of Baltimore who was from nearby Port Tobacco, Maryland and served from 1815-17. Over the years, the regional school serving several parishes in Charles County expanded to include a high school that later closed in 1976.
Father Matt Siekierski, the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish and the administrator of Archbishop Neale School when the tornado hit, led the construction efforts for the new school until his death one year later. His work was continued by Msgr. Karl Chimiak who became the new pastor then. Sister Helene Fee, an Immaculate Heart of Mary sister who served as the school’s principal for two decades beginning in 1988, also played a leading role in the reconstruction of the school, and took some small children by the hand when it opened its doors. After a legacy of faith and service that spanned 80 years, her religious order left the school in 2007.
Teresa Skinner, who became the principal of Archbishop Neale School last year after earlier teaching at Little Flower School in Great Mills, said, “There’s a lot of history here.”
A special part of the school’s history has been its teachers, many of whom have taught there for decades and have sent their children to the school. Many of them have also graduated from Archbishop Neale School, as have generations of school families.
“There is such a huge sense of community here, and the teachers trust in what we do, and they believe in that mission,” Skinner said.
This year, Archbishop Neale opened with 282 students in its pre-kindergarten through eighth grade classes, with 20 more students than last year.
The principal noted the importance of the chapel with a tabernacle being located near the school’s front door. “Jesus Christ is ever-present,” she said, noting the wording painted above the entrance foyer by the main stairwell, that says “…Christ is the reason for this school,” and also says that Christ is a teacher in its classrooms, a model for its teachers and the inspiration of the students there.
“The teachers, they live that (message),” she said. She added, “We’re talking a lot this year about bringing Christ’s light to the world, and that’s my hope for our students.”
Father Scott Woods, in his second year as the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish and administrator of Archbishop Neale, echoed that point, saying the school is marked by “a love of Christ, and a love of His children, and a real sense of what it means to be a community.”
Skinner praised teachers for their resilience and flexibility during the pandemic, as schools adjusted from virtual to hybrid and back to in-person learning with safety precautions. “The Catholic schools in Southern Maryland were really able to keep education going,” she said.
Expressing pride in her school, she said, “It’s a very special place.” During a walk through the school, she pointed out the library, where last year students checked out 6,845 books. She also noted that the gym floor was donated from the original Capital Centre, where the Washington Bullets once played.
Archbishop Neale School was just outfitted with 35 new Dell laptop computers, thanks to a technology grant from a foundation.
Mary Ellen Howard, a computer teacher and the school’s admissions director, noted she taught the mother of one of her new kindergarten students. Parents who once attended the school and now send their children there “recognize the outstanding education, the support, the love and the dedication of the faculty and staff,” she said.
Kindergarten teacher Beth Sine graduated from Archbishop Neale School in the late 1970s and is in her 13th year teaching there. “It really laid the foundation for my Catholic faith,” she said. “…The school is wonderful. It feels like home. You can tell God’s here.”
Describing her young students, she said, “They’re so fun. They love school. They love God, and they love each other.”
Years ago, Carolyn Bowman sent her two children to Archbishop Neale School, and after she started volunteering as a parent, in 2003 she became an instructional assistant there, and she continues in that role with 3- and 4-year-old pre-kindergarten students.
“I’m blessed to be a part of this school,” she said. I love the children, and I love my job.” She said she sent her children there because she wanted a Catholic education for them, and now “I’m able to give that to others.”
Bowman said witnessing the opening of the new school in 2004 was “awesome. We were already a Catholic school family… We were all walking together after the tragedy.”
Archbishop Neale science teacher Joelle Civil also experienced the school first as a parent, having sent both her children there. Now she teaches Earth and space science to sixth graders; life science to seventh graders, who learn about cells, genetics and biodiversity; and physical science – chemistry and physics – to eighth graders. Students do science projects during the year, and community members who work in scientific fields talk to students about their careers.
“I emphasize that science is in everything. Science is everywhere,” she said.
Margee Baldus, who works as a med tech at the school, graduated from there in 1980, her husband is a member of the class of 1976, and they have a daughter who is now an eighth grader there. Remembering the impact of the tornado in the La Plata community, she said, “It was shocking to see everything flattened.”
Baldus said it was very sad to see her former school destroyed, but she added, “We have a beautiful school now. It’s updated.”
When Archbishop Neale School was being rebuilt, Laura Schreyer was serving as the Home and School Association president. All six of her children have attended the school, with the youngest now in fourth grade. Now she teaches language arts at the school and is in her sixth year of working there.
“The school has been such a blessing in my children’s life,” she said, noting that her oldest daughter is now a Nashville Dominican, Sister Anna Maria.
Describing what makes Archbishop Neale School special, Schreyer said, “It’s family… Our community has been tested in fire. We’re so blessed to be here, and going strong.”
The school has a brick and other remnants from its previous building on display, including artwork by Adriana Gutrick, then a fifth grader. Her drawing was blown over the Chesapeake Bay by the tornado and landed in the front yard of a home more than 100 miles away.
Her mother, Marcia Gutrick, serves as a resource teacher at Archbishop Neale School and has worked there for 22 years. Gutrick, who also teaches fourth and fifth grade social studies, sent both her children to the school, and she stressed how in challenging times, Archbishop Neale School continues to give children “a strong faith foundation that will enable them to navigate in this world.”
She added, “We are here to stay, to continue with the heritage of a strong education.”
