St. Peter's Catholic School (Pine Bluff, Arkansas) facts for kids

St. Peter's Catholic School (StPCS) was a school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. It was a special school for Black Catholic students. It was open for many years, first from 1889 to 1975, and then again from 1985 to 2012.

History of St. Peter's School

St. Peter's was the very first school in Arkansas created specifically for Black children. It was started in 1889 by Monsignor John Michael "J.M." Lucey. He was a pastor at St. Joseph Church. At first, it was called the Colored Industrial Institute. Then, in 1897, its name changed to St. Peter Academy. It was also known as St. Peter High School.

Important people worked at the school. One was Father John Henry Dorsey, a Josephite priest. He was one of the first African-American Catholic priests in the United States. Also, the Sisters of the Holy Family, a group of Black Catholic nuns, helped teach there. They were the second-oldest group of Black Catholic nuns. Father Dorsey and the Sisters had some disagreements. This led to the Sisters leaving the school. Father Dorsey later died.

Sandra Gordy wrote a book called Finding the Lost Year. She said that in the late 1950s, St. Peter's had a small number of students. The number of students in each grade was not even.

In early 1963, the elementary school started to welcome students of all races. This meant it became racially integrated.

The school closed in 1975. But it reopened in 1985 as an elementary school. It taught students from preschool up to 6th grade. The School Sisters of Notre Dame ran the school at this time. St. Peter's Catholic School closed for good in 2012. It was the last Catholic school in Arkansas that was originally started for Black students.