Increased Enrollment Causes Growing Pains For One Local School

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)-Annunciation Catholic School is the only catholic school in the Golden Triangle Area.

Its enrollment has been increasing, and that has brought some growing pains.

Plenty of students want to come to Annunciation Catholic School, but finding room to fit them all has become challenging.

“We’re out of physical space,” said Joni House, principle at Annunciation Catholic School. “So to accommodate our students at this time, we have module classrooms, and these are temporary structures so our main priority right now is to find out where we would have, what would be the best option for us.”

House said the quick fixes aren’t a long-term solution.

She said the school is currently looking at three different possibilities to solve this problem.

“At this time, I am not able to tell what those options are, but one would be absolutely staying here,” said House. “We’re looking at some other properties here in Columbus, and in the middle possibly.”

Despite those problems, House said she’s happy to see that the school is continuing to grow.

The school enrolls over 200 students in grades K through eighth.

Kids from all over the golden triangle area and even some parts of Alabama attend the private school.

“These are great growing pains,” the principle said.  “We just want to make sure we do what’s best for our students and families.”

Due to the steady increase of students, administrators have considered expanding all the way up to 12th grade.

“We have looked at that and talked with the superintendent and the Bishop in Jackson, and our big issue right now is we have to make sure we have that sustained enrollment at our lower grades and the numbers to be financially able to support that growth,” House explained.

House said that option is still possible, however, it’s not in the school’s immediate future.

“That’s long term, we’re talking 20 years from now,” she said. “The bishop wants an entire plan, he wants curriculum, he wants the financial plan, where you would house them, he wants an entire high school plan for that to happen.”

Currently, once students complete 8th grade, they go on to different high schools, depending on where they live.