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Covering the Heart of Hamilton County Since 1983
The Miracle on Clark Road
Perhaps it was the spirit of a former leader of a church, Father Jim Willig that drove the event. Or it could be attributed to the work of the Mother of Jesus, whom dozens of people prayed the rosary to each week, no matter how inclement or nice the weather was. Maybe it was the work of the Holy Spirit, the image that adorns the group’s web site. More than likely, it was all of the above, along with a heavy dose of a “we can do this if we try hard enough” attitude that enabled Sts. Peter and Paul Academy to open its doors for the first day of school on August 22, 2007. On the surface, an uninformed person would simply see a smooth transition from the former Sts. Peter and Paul School on Vine Street to the Academy on Clark Road. The parents, grandparents and friends of the Academy know how much hard work, perseverance and prayers went into this project. Hard work alone cannot explain everything that has happened though. This has been called a “Miracle” for several reasons.
Many people in the Valley are aware of the closing of the former Sts. Peter and Paul Elementary School. After 154 years of tradition, the school closed its doors on June 1, 2007.
Beginning in November, 2006 a group of approximately 75 “Founders” accomplished something
most people would only dream of -
Miracle #1 – A 1966 Corvette Stingray
The Save Our School (SOS) Committee started meeting the week after Thanksgiving every
Thursday night. Prior to every meeting, a dedicated group prayed the Rosary asking
Mary, our Blessed Mother, to help guide us in our words and deeds. The first SOS
fundraising letter went out on November 20, 2006. Bake sales, Skyline Chili Night
and Max & Erma’s night were just a few of the fund-
Unfortunately, this was not enough. Donations in hopes of keeping SPPS open were slowly trickling in. Realizing that these smaller fundraising efforts would not get the job done, two angels came forward to make the most generous donation possible—a gift from the heart. Gerry and Bonnie Rack’s story is an example of the ultimate act of giving.
This is the story of a Vietnam Vet, a young Army mechanic named Gerry. He wrote letters
home to himself saying that if I make it home alive, I am going to buy myself a Corvette.
Eventually he did. He made it home to Reading, Ohio, and worked and saved for four
years before being able to purchase a one-
Now this is a more than just a car to Gerry. It is a part of his life and history,
his pride and joy. There are less than 79,000 miles on the car-
As one Founder said, “He has given us a lifeboat to hang onto in this storm that could destroy our little school...” At this point they knew God was inspiring the group to keep the faith and continue their journey.
Miracle #2 -
With the donation of the 1966 Corvette, the media started picking up on the will of this group to keep Sts. Peter and Paul School open. On December 14, an article was written by the Cincinnati Enquirer and featured the 1966 Corvette to help raise the needed money. Immediately this story was picked up by the AP Wire and went across the United States. Money started coming in from ticket sales as far away as Columbus, Cleveland, Omaha, Arizona, New York and Hawaii. Web sites around the nation also linked up and advertised the Corvette drawing. Ticket sales were booming.
Due to this wonderful media coverage, $65,000 was raised in less than one month.
Weeks were passing, the future was uncertain for SPPS, but people’s faith held tight that they wanted to keep Catholic education in the Valley. Fundraising continued: bake sales, Buddy Cards, scrap metal drives, all kept adding up.
Miracle # 3 – A Private Academy and Our Role Model, Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School
Research quickly began into establishing a private, independent school. The model being used was Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School in Liberty Township. Several of their Board of Trustees members came to present the idea of a private, independent Catholic School and it was well received.
On March 15, over 100 people attended the information meeting to learn more about forming the private Academy. The news media again covered our story.
Miracle # 4 – “Step One”
To become a non-
Miracle #5 – The Perseverance Pep-
At times the leaders considered giving up. However, the Chairman of the Board from Mother Teresa School came to an Academy meeting just at the right time. He spoke of the effort it takes to open a private school. He emphasized that it is worth the hard work. He said it is the most important thing he has ever done. He again told the crowd that he would sit on the Board of the new school to help in any way that he can. He went over the finances briefly and said that it is realistic.
People were encouraged to continue praying for an attainable lease. However, parents were not only asked to pray but to take action. Sign up their children. Get behind this effort and work to make it a reality.
As time continued marching on, the crunch was being felt with constraints on getting all the proper paper work filed with the State of Ohio Department of Education. On April 16 the Archdiocese lawyers, offered a draft lease for the current Sts. Peter and Paul parish. The Academy could not afford the lease or the conditions that were required.
It was obvious that the group could not work out an amicable lease within the time constraint to file the needed paperwork with the Ohio Department of Education in time to have the school open in the Fall. The required Compliance Document, over 250 pages long, had to be submitted to ODE by June 1 in order for the Academy to open its doors in August. If this document was not submitted, the group would have to wait until August 2008 to open a new school.
Miracle #6 – A Vacant Building
A vacant school building sat empty less than one mile from the old school site. This building was not only available to lease, it was the perfect size for the new school. The landlords, a division of Neyer Properties, were bending over backwards to work with the Academy leaders to make a lease work in the time frame they needed—immediately!
On April 26, terms of the lease were presented at the Founders meeting. Cheers went up as the announcement was made that the Academy took possession of the building that afternoon. The new landlord included in his letter, "Congratulations on finding a new home for your outstanding new school. Your group has demonstrated unmatched tenacity and admirable commitment. We are pleased to have been able to come to terms with such a terrific group of people."
A letter was sent to SPPS Parish council members and to the SPP pastor to tell them that Sts. Peter and Paul Academy has accepted another lease and to please keep us in their prayers. “It is the hope to continue a good relationship with Sts. Peter and Paul Parish as our neighboring parish, so that the children will make their sacraments at Sts. Peter and Paul Church. It is also our commitment as parishioners of Sts. Peter and Paul to continue to support our church and parish.”
Miracle #7 – Mary arrived
The building was going to need a lot of work in order to have it ready for school to begin in the fall! However, the first and most important thing needed was a Mary statue to pray the weekly Rosary in front of. The group had been praying the Rosary since before Thanksgiving, every week and now they needed a Mary statue to continue the prayers at the Academy’s new address. “We’ll have one, we just don’t know where it will come from,” stated one dedicated parent. Sure enough, with Faith strong enough to move mountains, the 5’ statue of Mary arrived one hour before the Rosary was to be prayed. What a beautiful sight! It was now the Academy’s home.
Miracle # 8 – The Compliance Document
As soon as the Academy had an address for the school, they were able to proceed with
the next step for opening a school. A document, hundreds of pages thick, had to be
written and sent to the state of Ohio Department of Education by June 1. A few dedicated
Founders worked day and night, non-
Miracles, miracles, miracles
When one of the Founders was driving a truck to pick up supplies out in Loveland, she ran out of gas and coasted into the gas station. She didn’t have a penny on her. The attendants are instructed not to take credit cards over the phone. The manager happened to be there, she told him of her plight to get the donated cubbies from the Goddard School a few miles away. The manager’s granddaughter attended the school and he knew the circumstances of its moving. He believed her and allowed her to fill up.
One hot afternoon several volunteers drove to the Goddard School to get the donated play set. The poles, buried three feet in the ground, would not budge. Help was needed to remove that playground. The volunteers looked around and saw a friend from a sign company that happened to have his crane at the site next door. He gladly came over and donated his crane to pull the poles from the ground. They could not have done it without him!
On one bleak Thursday evening while they were praying the Rosary, wondering where they would get textbooks from, a van pulled up and people started unloading boxes and boxes of textbooks and library books.
People came from everywhere to bring donations. One woman brought in her bingo money in a brown paper bag. She was not from around Reading. She had followed our story in the news. Before leaving, she then bought a Corvette raffle ticket.
The Academy had no budget for supplies, books and furniture. The prayers went out and word of mouth spread. Help with everything from desks to door refinishing, computers to cafeteria tables, toilet seats to tile, landscaping to laptops, new windows to new water fountains, gym floor refinishing to playground equipment, paint to piano, library shelves to lab equipment, roofing supplies to cleaning supplies, security system to phone system, and much, much more. All donated!
Those who never painted or tiled in their lives, are now masters. One group of dedicated
parents spent several hours re-
It is estimated that over $175,000 in time, talent and materials have gone into Sts. Peter and Paul Academy.
During a television interview, one of the Academy Board members was asked what she had learned through all of this. Her answer was simple:
“I have learned that people are good. People are kind-
“I have learned that the human spirit is an amazing thing. These families felt that decisions were being made for them about their children and their faith, without their opinion or feelings being taken into consideration. These families dug deep and stood up for what they believed in. These people have been empowered to take ownership in their future and their children’s future.
“I have learned that Reading is an incredible community. The sense of family, commitment to their forefathers, and belief in working hard for what is right is at the core of their being. They are proud of their community and they take care of each other.”
It seems impossible to mention all the miracles that have occurred and continue to happen everyday at Sts. Peter and Paul Academy. The miracles continue as the children continue to learn about God daily.
We are thankful to everyone who has had any part of the Miracle on Clark Road. Thank you for your prayers and support.
The lesson we have learned from this is “Expect A Miracle.” Through this long year, things did keep going wrong, but through it all, our faith held tight that the Holy Spirit was leading this project. God was with us. We expected everything to turn out all right and it did, more than we could ever have dreamed. The Miracle on Clark Road is just the beginning.
These Miracles have taught more than just lessons from text books, it has taught lessons on life. The children and the community are all learning a lesson from this project, that with God all things are possible.
They are learning the lesson of teamwork and perseverance. They are learning to not give up when the going gets tough. The friendships and camaraderie that have formed through the bond of working to make this Academy a reality is just a bonus.
The Founders of Sts. Peter and Paul Academy should be proud of their accomplishments, but should be thankful for the hand that God played in this whole scenario. Without the praying of the Rosary along with the prayers of so many thousands of people along with us, this would have been too much to do. God strengthened us. He led others to help.
Sts. Peter and Paul Academy is proud that so many of their families are active parishioners
that continue to support our parish. These parents and children remain involved through
serving at Mass, lectors, greeters, ushers, marriage ministry, Parish Council members,
running the children’s booths at Septemberfest as well as clean-
The Academy leaders expect to see everyone at Septemberfest and hope that this year’s event is the best ever!
We are reminded of a familiar quote we used to hear, “Someday people from all around will ask, ‘What moves the Spirit here at Sts. Peter and Paul?’”
Whether or not it is truly a miracle or a series of good fortune or just perfect timing, no one can deny the hand of God that has been involved in the opening of Sts. Peter and Paul Academy, “The Miracle on Clark Road.”
If you would like more information on Sts. Peter and Paul Academy, you may go to
the website: www.SPPAcademy.org or call the Academy at 761-
Note: The Courier wants to thank one of the “Founders” who submitted all this information and images. She does not want her name mentioned but I would hire her in a nanosecond to write for the paper. You Go, Girl! And you know who you are.