Lancaster St. Bernadette Catholic School has a long and proud history of serving students in Pre-K through fifth grade. For generations, including when I was a student here, children would transition to another Catholic school after fifth grade to continue their middle school education.
Over the years, many families, parishioners, and stakeholders have expressed a heartfelt desire to see St. Bernadette grow beyond fifth grade. Parents often share how much they value our Christ-centered, family-oriented environment and how they wished their children could remain part of our school community through middle school.
Last year, that longtime dream became a reality with the addition of our sixth grade class. This school year, we are proud to welcome seventh grade, and in fall 2026, we will complete our expansion by adding eighth grade. To support this exciting growth, building plans are in the works, and we anticipate breaking ground within the coming year.
Our expansion is not limited to the middle school. St. Bernadette now offers a full-day preschool program, providing our youngest learners the opportunity to grow in a Christ-centered environment. Once the new building is complete, we hope to expand our preschool offerings even further by creating two dedicated classes — one for Pre-K 3 and one for Pre-K 4.
What makes St. Bernadette unique is the strength of our community and the generations of families who stay connected to our school. Many alumni have returned to serve, including our beloved secretary, Barb Huber, who graduated from St. Bernadette herself and has faithfully served our school for 32 years. Several other alumni now teach here as well: Dominic Neighbor, our sixth grade homeroom and middle school religion and social studies teacher; Caroline Bafus, our first grade teacher; Amber Schneider, our third grade teacher; and myself. In addition, many of our veteran teachers have been with us for decades and have had their own children pass through the halls of St. Bernadette.
Once you become part of the St. Bernadette family, you don’t want to leave. And now, as we make history with both the expansion of our school and the growth of our preschool program, it is an especially exciting time to be part of this vibrant, faith-filled community.
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