History / Overview of St. Stephen's

Grand Island was a small farming community that did not experience any significant increase in population until the post-Civil War period (1865-1890).  During that time, many summer homes and residential summer clubs were built on the island.  Father Francis Stephen Ulrich, Pastor of the Catholic Parish of Pendelton and the Tonawandas, served the spiritual needs of these summer residents until 1862, when St. Stephen Church was officially created.

During the post-World War II suburban expansion, parish membership grew to 3,500 members and construction of an "Auditorium Church" took place in 1956.  During the following decade, after considerable discussion and debate, the parish school was added.

In 1967, the education complex of St. Stephen Parish was constructed.  The Felician Sisters of the Buffalo, New York  Province were asked to assume the administration of the school.  The order maintained its commitment to the school until 2001.  St. Stephen Elementary School opened for the first time on September 6, 1967 with an enrollment of 154 students and a staff of four Felician Sisters and one lay teacher.  The academic program included grades one to four and a remedial reading program.

In each of the next five years, one grade level was added to the elementary school.  This year's graduating class will be the 35th graduating class, since the very first one in 1972.

School registration continued to increase and in September 1977, the student population reached 240 in grades 1 through 8.  In June 1980, St. Stephen's awarded diplomas to thirty-four students, the largest graduating class to date.

In September 1980, the Kindergarten was opened in the basement of the one hundred year old church.  Twenty-five children were enrolled in the half-day program. T hree years later, the Kindergarten program was extended to a full day.  A Pre-Kindergarten program for four year olds began in September of 1982.

In the spring of 1991, construction of a six classroom addition began and was completed for the opening of school in September 1991.  This new wing now includes our Music room, Kindergarten classroom, Science and Computer labs, and seventh and eighth grade homerooms. Changes with existing structure provided an Art Room, expanded library facilities, a faculty Room, and increased storage areas.

In the fall of 1998, the final wiring and connections for our Local Area Network (LAN) was completed and St. Stephen School entered the World Wide Web via the Internet.

In the fall of 2001, the St. Stephen community selected its first lay principal.  With the message of Christ as its focus, the school continues to serve the Grand Island Community.

The summer of 2005 found a wholesale replacement of our classroom and computer lab computers,

In September of 2006, our campus expanded with the addition of our new Early Childhood Center for our Pre-K students in the former convent building.