Columbus St. Mary School received a special visitor on Thursday, March 14. Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted visited the school, located in the German Village neighborhood, for a roundtable discussion about the Educational Choice (EdChoice) scholarships and a school tour.

Husted was joined at the roundtable by Dr. Adam Dufault, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Columbus; Gina Stull, principal of St. Mary; Father Vince Nguyen; pastor of St. Mary, Mother of God Church, as well as school families, parishioners and staff.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (center) take a tour of St. Mary School with Father Vince Nguyen. Husted visited St. Mary on March 14 for a roundtable discussion on the EdChoice scholarship program. Photo courtesy St. Mary School

The lieutenant governor began his visit by tossing a football outside with students at recess. The former college football player then came inside the school’s newly renovated Guadalupe Hall to discuss how the scholarship is benefiting Ohio families, including those at St. Mary.

The EdChoice Expansion Scholarship Program provides scholarships to students in grades K-12 to attend a private school. The program is based on household income and family size. As an example, families at 450 percent of the Federal Poverty Guideline ($135,000 in gross income for a family of four) or below can receive the maximum scholarship amount ($6,166 for K-8) allowed by law.

At St. Mary, which serves students in preschool through eighth grade, 97 percent of students are on the EdChoice scholarship, Stull said. 

Only three students in the school are not on the scholarship. Alicia Wiltron, the EdChoice coordinator at St. Mary, said some students receive the Jon Peterson Special Needs (JPSN) scholarship, which provides funds for special needs students in nonpublic schools. 

Wiltron said every student at St. Mary receives some type of scholarship.

The school currently has 400 students, Stull said. Next school year, there will be 500 students enrolled, and there is currently a waitlist.

Dufault told Husted that capacity is the greatest challenge facing diocesan Catholic schools. The Office of Catholic Schools experienced enrollment increases this year as a result of the scholarship, he said.

Sorcha Sweeney, an eighth-grade student who began attending St. Mary 11 years ago in preschool, shared how EdChoice made a difference for her. She will be attending Columbus Bishop Hartley High School in the fall.

“I just got accepted to Bishop Hartley, and because of your scholarship, I get to go on a full ride, and it’s so perfect because I really feel like all of this happened for a reason,” Sweeney told the lieutenant governor.

She said that she is “so glad I got grow up in the faith.” Sweeney told Husted that praying every morning at school has helped her, as well as having daily religion class.

She said St. Mary teaches students good morals and how to “be a good person” no matter their religion. 

Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted (second from left) participates in a roundtable discussion on EdChoice at St. Mary School with Father Vince Nguyen (left), the parish's pastor, and Craig Hickey, the chairman of the school board. Photo courtesy St. Mary School

The lieutenant governor asked her for examples of values she learned in school that she will take into the world. Among them were gratitude and forgiveness.

“You’re not just getting an education; you’re getting taught who to be,” Sweeney said.

 She said teachers prepare students for “real life situations” that they might encounter. In kindergarten, Sweeney recalled, students played a game where they were presented two choices and had to decipher which was the right choice. She also spoke about the influence of teachers at the school.

“They’re the perfect examples,” she said. “They’re examples of who we should be and what we should be like and how we should treat others.”

Sweeney shared that some of her peers come to school without a lunch. She said they never have to worry because St. Mary makes sure each student is fed every day by providing a lunch for those without one.

“Not having to worry and focusing on learning is a big deal, isn’t it?” Husted asked her.

Sweeney’s mother, Megan, shared that she and her husband are grateful because they could not give their children a Catholic education without the scholarship. The family lives on the east side of Columbus in the Berwick neighborhood.

“Without a private education, she wouldn’t be anywhere close to where she is now,” Megan said.

Devin and Amy Russell have three daughters, Ava, 9; Catherine, 8; and Isabelle, 6, attending St. Mary on the EdChoice scholarship. The family, who live nearby in Merion Village, said a Catholic environment makes a difference.

They are “actually much nicer to each other,” Devin said. Unlike he and his wife, Devin joked, their daughters love school.

In turn, Father Nguyen said EdChoice allows St. Mary to love every child who comes through their doors. He expressed gratitude to the lieutenant governor for his collaboration.

“EdChoice has been a conduit for – the big word – evangelization, trying to spread God’s love,” Father Nguyen said of the state funding. “We are eternally grateful for that because it gives us an opportunity to share God’s love with those kids.”

Stull said the school has a diverse population “socioeconomically and educationally.” She said there is a need for government help with occupational therapy, speech therapy and reading.

The roundtable discussed the new Nationwide Children’s school-based health center located at St. Mary. The school partnered with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to provide health care that students would receive at a doctor’s office.

Stull said the center, which offers immunizations and sick and well checks for students, operates similar to an urgent care.

The health center is located next to St. Mary Church in the Burkley Center, offering services for all St. Mary students and their siblings up to age 21. A licensed therapist is on site to provide behavioral and mental health services.

Father Nguyen said the center also sees students from other diocesan Catholic schools and public schools. He said they are helping all those in need of health care services.

Husted said he is seeing “more and more efforts” to create school-based health care facilities. He said his office plans to announce soon a series of health clinics throughout Ohio’s Appalachia region.