Schools Office Staff
Superintendent
Dr. Erin Vader
573.635.9127, ext. 247
Administrative Assistant
Sara Blandford
573.635.9127, ext. 248
Diocese of Jefferson City
Alphonse J. Schwartze Catholic Center
2207 West Main St
Jefferson City, MO 65109-0914
Special Learning Opportunities in our Catholic Schools
With the renewal of the Spire Foundation, schools throughout the diocese can receive support for special education services.
Vogelweid at St. Peter Catholic School
Mission
The overall mission of Vogelweid Learning Center at St. Peter School in Jefferson City is to provide individualized educational opportunities for children with disabilities from any cultural, economic or religious background.
Goals
- Offer learning and social opportunities that encourage the student to develop to their fullest God-given potential.
- Instill a sense of self-confidence as a valued peer within the school community.
- Instructed in the Catholic faith and exhibit Christian behaviors.
- Program academics within the student’s instructional range within whole group and small group settings.
- Coordinate on-site qualifying related services such as tutoring, speech/language, occupational, and physical therapies.
Vogelweid at Helias Catholic High School
The Vogelweid Learning Center at Helias is slated to begin with the 2024-25 academic year. This will allow students who qualified for special education services in grade school to continue receiving them for four more years in a Catholic environment.
The center will offer special education services well beyond the programs already being offered through Helias’s Pope John Paul II Student Success Center. Services will include teaching functional life-based skills to students with significant learning challenges, helping them prepare for employment and independent living.
Spire Foundation
Spire began in 2015 when parents shared the desire for their children with special needs to recieve the same faith formation as their siblings and peers. Catholic schools have long recognized the necessity for religious education that fits all learning needs, but struggled with limited financial resources. Partnering with the Diocese of Jefferson City, parents and educators formed the Spire commission to raise funds for educational resources and to promote suitable religious education for all.
Objectives
- Raise awareness among school administrators, teachers, staff and parents of the need to provide Catholic education to children with special needs, as well as the availability of workshops and professional development opportunities to help teachers bring out the children’s best efforts
- Raise money and help secure grants to pay for staff development, classroom materials and additional personnel to help students with special needs achieve success in Catholic schools