As the numbers of children, the future of our Church, continue to grow in the Arlington Diocese, several schools are enlarging or upgrading their existing facilities and recently founded parishes hope to build new schools.

"It’s an indication that our schools are still very strong, parents want to send their children there, and it’s a reflection of the quality work that the teachers and staff are doing," said Dr. Timothy McNiff, diocesan superintendent of schools. Diocesan Catholic schools include 36 elementary level, six high school facilities and St. Coletta’s for special needs students.

New elementary schools are proposed at the parishes of Holy Trinity in Gainesville, Our Lady of Hope in Potomac Falls and St. Veronica in Herndon. At the two-and-a-half-year-old Herndon parish, fundraising has begun for a church and parish center, which may house an elementary school. Six hundred families are currently registered parishioners. This Saturday, Feb. 2, St. Veronica’s will hold their second annual "dinner, gala and auction" to raise part of the $1 million needed by April to break ground.

The construction of a Christian Education Center has been approved for St. Mark Parish in Vienna. Used as a school during weekdays, the structure will serve for parish activities at other times.

Additional parishes are planning enlargements of their existing elementary schools. At Corpus Christi School in Falls Church, adjacent to St. Anthony Church, an addition is planned that will hold a gym and serve as a parish center for some functions. The anticipated groundbreaking is April 1.

According to Oblate Father John O’Neill, pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Vienna, the parish buildings will begin expanding soon. At the school, which has an enrollment of 524, there will be a new gym and the old gym will become a media center and larger library. A new parish hall will be constructed, with a choir rehearsal room and youth room. In the worship facilities, the current church will add a cry room and expand the vestibule, and a new chapel will be built. Also, administrative space for parish and school staff will be reconfigured and the parking lot will be rearranged.

Queen of Apostles School in Alexandria is adding on to their school. Most of the structure will be a new gym, and there also will be two offices, a kitchen and a youth room.

A Community Center is being developed for St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Arlington. The parish hopes to break ground in June, according to Father Gerard Creedon, pastor. Currently, the pledging phase is being completed and more architectural plans are being developed. The two- to three-level building will be attached to the upper part of the existing church. It will contain primarily a large meeting area and smaller rooms geared toward ministry gatherings, as well as a gym, a small pre-school and a gathering hall to serve the diverse growing community.

At St. Joseph Parish in Herndon, the school will not actually expand in size, due to town regulations, but will connect to a building that will hold a parish hall, offices and the rectory. Ground was broken last month.

Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington will soon break ground for a new Academic Support Center. It will house The Mueller Center, formerly known as The Seton Center, for special needs students, as well as two dedicated classrooms, two science labs and a library annex.