About Us
OUR MISSION
Saint Francis International School is a Franciscan family that nurtures children to be instruments of God's peace, scholars, and global citizens.
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This mission is lived through Seven Tenets of Franciscan Education.
A Saint Francis International education is:
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INCARNATIONAL
PERSONAL
COMMUNAL
TRANSFORMATIONAL
ENGAGES THE HEART
DEVELOPS SERVANT LEADERS
PURSUES WISDOM
SUPPORTING PARISHES
HISTORY
St. Francis International School has offered a high quality educational program for children from age 3 through grade 8 since 2010. Our community is culturally and linguistically diverse with families from many faith traditions and from many areas. While founded in 2010, St. Francis International School’s history begins with the history of our regional parishes.
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St. Camillus School was founded in 1954. The school was originally staffed by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. During the 1980s the early childhood program was opened, and the Franciscan friars took over leadership of the parish.​
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St. Mark the Evangelist School was founded in 1958. The school was originally staffed by the Religious of Jesus and Mary.
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In the early 2000s St. Camillus continued to adjust to demographic changes in the surrounding area and reduced the size of the school to one class of each grade. This move allowed for the expansion of the computer lab, library, science room, music program, Spanish program, counseling program, and tutoring programs.
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St. Camillus warmly welcomed our neighbors from Our Lady of Sorrows Parish when their school closed to provide a campus for Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in 2007.
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​In 2010, in response to the reduced sizes of both schools, St. Camillus School and St. Mark the Evangelist School ceased independent operations and merged to create St. Francis International School, agreeing to use the St. Camillus facilities as the St. Francis school campus.
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St. Catherine Laboure School in Wheaton was founded by the Daughters of Charity in 1953. After St. Catherine Laboure School closed in 2013, the parish chose to join as a supporter of St. Francis International School, expanding the regional school to four parishes including St. Camillus, St. Mark, and Our Lady of Vietnam.
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Our school is strongly linked to our larger parish communities and we participate in the spiritual life, ministries, and charitable activities of St. Camillus, St. Mark the Evangelist, Our Lady of Vietnam, and St. Catherine Laboure Catholic Churches.
Our community is blessed by its many families and supporters. We invite you to learn more about Saint Francis International School and become part of our community!
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Our Campus and Facilities
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Built between 1954 and 1957 the St. Francis Campus was designed to accommodate a large student population. Our main school building consists of 25 classrooms plus a full-size library, computer room, science room, art room, music room, counselor's office, health room, and several rooms used for tutoring and small group work. The main building also includes a chapel, the Camillia Room (our cafeteria and auditorium), and our gymnasium as well as several meeting rooms. Our main building also has a large interior courtyard that has a playground and field primary used by preschool students.
Elsewhere on our campus is our large parish church which we use for weekly school masses, the parish offices, and several fields and parking lots which we use for recess and physical education. Our campus is also directly adjacent to Broad Acres Park (a Montgomery County park) which affords us the use of a playground, basketball court, soccer field, two baseball/softball diamonds, a walking trail, and nature areas which we use for recess and physical education.