PALM BEACH GARDENS | During the summer break, many Catholic families get away for a vacation of fun and relaxation. For school administrators, especially ones whose campus is undergoing significant renovations, time away can be hard to come by.
For Rachel Polak, principal of St. Clare School in North Palm Beach, and Mindy Miller, principal of St. Joseph School in Stuart, summer 2025 was full of memories, but not the kind you make on family vacations. They both spent a lot of their time overseeing major improvements/upgrades in the rooms and hallways of their schools.
‘Come in with God’s eyes’
St. Clare School opened in August 1964 with the upper floor designated for classrooms and the first floor set up for a temporary church. Five years later, the entire building became part of the school when the present St. Clare Church was built. Since the very beginning, before air conditioning became the norm in schools, the same jalousie windows had been in use — until this summer.
In 2004, “we had those two hurricanes, Frances and Jeanne, that took the roof off the building. And how the windows still lasted, I don’t know,” Polak said. “But every time we got a storm, they leaked. Water came in, they rattled. They weren’t energy efficient.” The new windows are “gorgeous” outside and quieter inside, she said.
New windows and floors were on the summer agenda, but earlier, as they explored what was needed, “the project became bigger,” Polak said. “We’re looking around at the classrooms, and the walls were old paneling. There were built-in bulletin boards with the old chalkboard trays and very dated and had been painted over gosh knows how many times. So, then it became a wall project, too. And I think that’s where the magnitude of the project sunk in.
“The windows actually went in fairly easily. We had nine weeks for this whole project, and within the first four all the old windows were out and the new windows were in. But the big task has really been the floors, the walls,” she said. A crew also was kept busy repainting the outside and inside of the school.
Other additions on the St. Clare campus are a new electronic sign and about 10 new air-conditioning units. Overall, it was a messy project, Polak said. Teachers had to pack up their classrooms and leave the boxes in the hallways while work was done in the rooms. But drywall dust got everywhere.
When the instructors returned Aug. 4, Polak advised them to “‘look at that building with God’s eyes, because God sees everything beautiful and perfect. So, we’re going to come in with God’s eyes,’ because it wasn’t beautiful and perfect, but God would think so. So, that’s what we’re going to think.”
After many weeks of hard work, the school campus was ready for the ultimate test when students returned Aug. 11. “It’s nice to walk into a beautiful space and to feel, for people who work here, that their employer cares and they want to give them nice surroundings,” she said. “And certainly, for our families, I think that gets them very excited knowing that St. Clare does have a future, because when they see that you’re putting funds back into your facilities, it all trickles own. But I think what we’ve done here has always been great and it will continue to be so.”
Polak, who has worked at St. Clare since 2009, knows well the legacy of St. Clare. Her husband attended the school, his mother was the school secretary for 20 years and Polak’s four children went to St. Clare.
“I feel honored and blessed to be in such a great place and to be a part of it, especially when it’s been so long in coming,” she said. “It’s a humbling experience for sure.”
‘Truly a team effort’
Little Disciples are big priorities at St. Joseph School in Stuart.
Principal Mindy Miller explained that, with enrollment growth, the school has been busting at the seams, especially on the west side of campus. To free up some space, school/parish administrators decided to move pre-kindergarten classes to the former Pine School site on the campus’s east side.
“Two of the particular buildings that we’re using now, with about 7,000 square feet, were specifically designed for early childhood,” she said. “So, every classroom has two or three bathrooms. They have things that are set at a level that little people, 3- and 4-year-olds, can easily reach. It has little walkways in between the classrooms so all of the teachers can collaborate and support one another. It was just the perfect facility,” though in need of fresh paint, new lights and ceiling work.
What started out in November 2024 as a simple process of relocation snowballed as wants and needs became clearer. The pre-K site, with five classrooms now called Little Disciples Academy at St. Joseph School, required a playground, landscaping, fencing and security gates, Miller said.
“It was a long process, but our teachers have shared that it is so peaceful and such an ideal spot for our littlest learners, that they’re able to really learn in an environment that’s designed specifically for them,” she said.
Six classrooms and the teachers’ lounge in the main school building were updated over the summer, along with a project to renovate bathrooms in the school gymnasium, with new floors, sinks, lights, partitions and wall tile.
To make playgrounds easier and cheaper to maintain, artificial turf was installed. A garden area on school grounds that used to include Stations of the Cross was converted to a play area called Angel Field, with a new security fence installed. The Stations were moved to where all parishioners can access them.
Overall, Miller said, “it’s been a lot. But I think that all these upgrades, even just making things brighter in the classroom, new lights, new clean feeling, I think it creates an environment where the students and the teachers know they’re valued and cared for and that the environment is conducive to learning. It’s a lovely place to come, and things are clean and fresh.”
She credits Father Noel McGrath, St. Joseph’s pastor, for his vision and desire to improve the school for future generations. Miller also sang the praises of George Bento, facilities supervisor at the school.
Bento “works tirelessly to get things done. Constantly calling contractors, calling vendors, and he’s making sure those punch lists are complete and making sure that things are done timely,” she said. “So, there’s no way that this gets done without having the support of a pastor, Father Noel, and having someone on staff who’s willing to take these things on.”
Miller also expressed gratitude for her teachers, who had to be flexible to accommodate the various construction projects.
“A lot of teachers do work over the summer so they’re ready,” she said. “Our teachers had to come back on teacher work week and move back into their classrooms before they could even begin to set up. It is truly a team effort and a willingness on everyone’s part to live out this Catholic educational mission.”
For more information about St. Clare School, 821 Prosperity Farms Road, North Palm Beach, visit www.stclareschool.com. For St. Joseph School, 1200 S.E. 10th St., Stuart, go to https://sjcschargers.com/. Connect with the schools on Facebook and Instagram. For information on all local Catholic schools, visit www.diocesepbschools.org and follow diocesan social media.
