BERLIN — At the northernmost edge of the Diocese of Madison, All Saints Regional School in Berlin, which educates 3K through eighth grade, is flourishing in its second year after opening a new state-of-the-art facility.
Ground broke in August of 2022 for a new school, and a year later, that school was completed for the 2023-2024 academic year.
When the school opened a year ago, Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison presided over its dedication, and since then, the students and their families, faculty, and larger Mater Dei Pastorate community enjoy a school that “keeps growing,” said Principal Jana Dahms.
The need for a new school
Dahms explained that the need for a new school began in 2020 when “All of a sudden, our numbers grew exponentially, almost 80 students in one year.”
During that time, Dahms needed to teach in an outdoor pod classroom because of the rapid growth.
She explained that the renewed interest in All Saints stemmed from area families who were searching for in-person schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With that interest and support from the parish community, it was decided that the time was ripe for a building project and capital campaign.
What followed was the completion of an impressive 41,000-square-foot facility.
Sitting atop a gradual hill that rises above the surrounding picturesque rural Wisconsin landscape, All Saints boasts many standout features.
The library and cafeteria, both spacious and filled with natural light, are two examples.
The gymnasium, which was funded by a former student’s family, is another.
Specialized classrooms like the science lab are particularly exciting.
For Dahms, safety was a key concern.
Walking around the school, it’s impossible not to notice keypad entries, which help protect almost every room.
Talking about the school, Dahms said, “We have had an outpouring of amazing support —financial and prayer — of this new facility.
“We have parishioners who have gone above and beyond to do any sort of support they can,” she continued.
The families who joined All Saints in 2020 have continued with the school, Dahms said and added that “We keep growing.
“Our class sizes are still great, and we’re excited about that.
“For the first time in years, people are waiting to get into 3K, and that’s not unheard of.
“We used to [teach] 4K with a public school, but now we have our own standalone 4K program, and that’s been super successful.
“We have lots of families and parishioners saying, ‘When are you going to build a high school?” she joked.
Reactions to the school
For Melinda Ahasay, All Saints’ second-grade teacher, the school has opened new possibilities.
Ahasay, who’s taught in Catholic schools for 32 years with 16 of those at All Saints, said, “When I think back on the old building — and even though we can teach in anything — we’re taught to teach with very minimal things.
“It’s not about what we have, it’s about who we are and what we teach,” she said.
But now, with a new facility that has a dedicated gym, library, cafeteria, and specialized classrooms, “it gives a different spirit of being able to do the things we’re here to do, which is to teach the Catholic Faith,” she said.
One blessing Ahasay counts is the closeness the school has to All Saints’ Church.
When the school was built, it was built onto the preexisting church, which makes traveling for Mass much easier and interaction with the pastorate’s priests more organic.
Because attending Mass is only a short walk away, the students can “spend that time with God in a facility where things are just easier for everyone,” Ahasay said.
She added that “We see the priests a lot more.
“Kids, I think, have a closer relationship in that way,” she continued, and added that “even on the coldest days,” Parochial Administrator Msgr. James Gunn helps with bussing, on hand as students unload and load when they arrive in the morning and leave at the end of the school day.
All of the pastorate’s priests, which in addition to Monsignor Gunn include Parochial Vicar Fr. Eric Nielsen and Parochial Vicar Fr. Anthony Thirumalareddy, are actively involved at the school.
Robyn McAllister is currently an All Saints aide and has been for four years.
In the past, she’s served as a coach and athletic director for the school.
During her time as athletic director, McAllister remembers “the hoops we had to jump through to try to use other facilities” at the old school, and continued, saying, “We did lose a lot of kids because of that.
“[Having a gym] shouldn’t be a priority, in my mind, but it does become one.
Now, “Having that space, which we also can use for programs and all sorts of other things, for me, that’s huge,” McAllister said.
McAllister’s son, Dean, who is an alum of the old school, helps at the new one in his free time while attending technical school.
In contrast to his mother, Dean’s favorite room of the new building is the library.
He said, “It’s easy to do one-on-one or small group activities.
“Back at the old school, we would be in the principal’s office doing math,” he remembered and was quick to add that it wasn’t for disciplinary reasons.
Rather, Dahm’s office was “one of the only small, quiet areas in the school that we could go to,” he explained.
But now, the new library provides that space, “where you have room for different groups and a quiet room,” he said.
Dahms said that “Having [the] important staple of Catholic education in this community forever is amazing and awesome.
“We know that for years to come this place is going to be like this,” she said, adding that the school is special “for our rural families”.
This academic year, All Saints School has more than 240 students enrolled, which includes students of all-day 3K, 4K, and K through eighth grades, who come primarily from the community of Mater Dei Pastorate.
All Saints School is also one of two diocesan schools that have qualified for the special needs scholarship program, which is a state-funded scholarship that helps students with disabilities attend a private school in the state of Wisconsin.
Led by Parochial Administrator Msgr. James Gunn, Parochial Vicar Fr. Eric Nielsen, and Parochial Vicar Fr. Anthony Thirumalareddy, Mater Dei Pastorate includes the city of Berlin and the surrounding cities, towns, and villages of Green Lake, Kingston, Markesan, Neshkoro, and Princeton.
To learn more about All Saints’ School, visit allsaintsberlin.org/catholic-school