St. Dominic School: A Gem in our Local Educational System

St. Dominic School - A Jewel of an Elementary Catholic School

By E. Richard Fortunato

As published in the Southington Citizen Friday, August 24, 2012

With the arrival of back-to-school season, here’s an alternate educational opportunity parents might care to consider before deciding the vital question of their children’s education in the critically fragile formative years of their development in elementary school.

Southington can proudly and justly boast a wonderful public school system. Still, readers may be of a mind to consider an exceptional alternative for their children’s elementary school education.


Enter St. Dominic School, located off of Flanders Road and Laning Street in Southington.

This campus-style Catholic elementary school has classes from pre-kindergarten, (three and four year olds), through fifth grade, including an all day Kindergarten program. 

Students of St. Dominic School learn in a richly caring environment in the Catholic tradition since it arrived on the Southington scene, initially as a nursery school in 1978.  

Graduates have done remarkably well as the school evolved into an energetic, family-friendly community that is a vibrant part of the St. Dominic church community. Students from Southington and beyond are welcome, regardless of social, economic, racial, religious tradition or ethnic background. .

The school is dedicated to living its mission as “a Christ-centered learning community that fosters Catholic faith and Christian values while striving for academic excellence, thus preparing students to become responsible leaders and role models within the family, church and community.”  In a nurturing, family-oriented environment, academic programs utilize traditional yet innovative teaching methods. Students learn in a safe, disciplined environment that inspires a culture of educational excellence through rigorous standards. 

The school maintains a close community while keeping pace with a rapidly changing global society.
Students of St. Dominic stand as shining examples of the school’s vision as a high quality, comprehensive elementary program serving the continuum of student needs. The students and the school are an important asset to the community.   

The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) scores of the students are above requirements for “exemplary high performing schools” according to established criteria. The value of this distinction goes beyond test scores. At St. Dominic, preparing students to be successful in their academic and spiritual lives is at the center of the process.

Teachers integrate 21st century skills into their instructional strategies. Technology assists learning with SMART Board-equipped classrooms and a mobile Netbook laboratory. Instruction is differentiated so that all students may be successful. The traditional core curriculum of religion, language arts, reading, mathematics, social studies, science and health is enriched with Spanish, physical education, art, choral music and instrumental music and an automated library.  A literacy specialist and school counselor assist students with academic needs and emotional and social growth.

A strong and positive partnership exists between parents and teachers who are state certified and proactive in professional development programs. St. Dominic School is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).

Four years of collected data indicate that 87% of graduates have achieved honor roll status during the first semester of their sixth grade year. Area middle schools report that St. Dominic graduates are academically and socially prepared and successful.

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Prinicipal, Patti Tiezzi and School Counselor,
Stacy Marchioni discussing a St. Dominic School program. 

Principal,  Mrs. Patricia Tiezzi, says “School families consistently state St. Dominic students are happy, enjoy school, and have a love of learning fostered during their time at the school where they participate in student council, chorus, band, soccer and basketball teams and an impressive range of after school clubs and activities, all of which develop students as confident leaders and contributors to community service opportunities.

Projects include coat, mitten and sock drives, walk-a-thons, Christmas Giving Trees, food drives, and coin collection drives for charitable causes, all reflecting  the school’s commitment to Catholic social teaching. 

Families in need of financial assistance should note that there is a needs-based tuition assistance program in place at St. Dominic for qualifying families.  The school also offers new students a needs-based tuition reduction in the form of a first year scholarship, ranging from 20 % to 60 % tuition savings for qualifying families. For more info, call the St. Dominic School office to arrange a visit, tour and conference concerning the vital subject of your child’s elementary education.  Tel. 860-628-4678. E-mail school@saintdominiccchurch.com. Also, visit www.saintdominicschoolct.org