St. Jerome Regional School sees growth in enrollment

St. Jerome Regional School is bucking the trend when it comes to its enrollment.

For the past few years, the Catholic school, which serves children in grades pre-K through eighth, has seen a healthy growth in the number of students enrolled.

The school, which has been rooted in the Schuylkill County community for 98 years — first in Tamaqua and now in Hometown — now provides 277 students and their families with private education. It serves families from Tamaqua, Mahanoy area, the Panther Valley area and other surrounding towns.

Manda Smarr Beers, director of advancement, said St. Jerome Regional, which opened its re-enrollment period to current families last week, already has 75 percent of its current students enrolled for next year and is expecting that number to increase before the early enrollment period ends Friday. It will then open enrollment to new families beginning Dec. 3.

“It’s a great thing to see in the community for a school that has been established in 1921, that it is growing and thriving,” she said. “Over the course of the last couple years, it is nice to see more students.”

Because of this, St. Jerome has increased the number of classes it has for kindergarten, first and third grades and shifts double grades to meet the growing need each year.

“Kindergarten this year has 50 kids in it,” Smarr Beers said. “It’s been very positive. Having that happen makes us feel that we are continuing to be a place for Catholic education.”

The school urges families who are interested in enrolling for the next school year to not wait once open enrollment begins because officials are expecting to see wait lists for some classes.

St. Jerome Regional School, located at 50 Meadow Ave. in Tamaqua, is open to all denominations and provides Catholic education, with the addition of its new STEM curriculum, which the school showcased over $30,000 worth of new products this week during National STEM Week.

“We’re really excited to welcome as many new students and families into the school as possible,” Smarr Beers said.

For more information on St. Jerome Regional School, visit www.sjrschool.com/admissions.html; email advancement.director@gmail.com or call 570-668-2757.