The Piarist School

*Note: Please view the "2025 Campaign" Tab to learn more about this year's Fundraising project.

For as many years as these mountains have existed, the Appalachian people who call them home have been a proud, hardworking, and self-sufficient culture.  They are a people who pull together when times are tough, and share whatever portions they have been given.  However, too often there is still a lack of resources in this area which leaves many in poverty.  The dream of many of these families is a better life for their children.  They want to be able to send their children to good schools that will enable them to obtain good jobs and a good life.  Unfortunately, that dream comes with its own obstacles.  Educational costs are rising at exponential rates, and many families in this area simply don’t have the means to combat these costs.   

This is where The Piarist School steps in.  The founder of the Piarist Order, St. Joseph Calasanz, was born in Spain in 1556 and was deeply moved by the children he saw living in poverty.  It was his belief, and a belief that we all at The Piarist School share, that every child, regardless of their religious affiliation or financial situation, should have access to exceptional education.  Our motto, “pietas et litterae” translates to piety and learning, and reflects our focus on loving and serving Christ through the education of those children he places within our care.

In August of 1990, the Piarist Order opened a college preparatory high school in Floyd County, KY, in the city of Martin.  That year the school was made up of only one freshman class.  Today we have grown to have grades six through twelve and have graduated over 250 students while still maintaining the same tuition-free, college-preparatory atmosphere that was present when our dream began.   While we are thankful for our growth and thankful that we are still tuition-free after all these years, we are even more blessed to be able to state that every single student who has graduated from our school has been accepted into a college or university.  St. Joseph’s dream lives on in each of them.  

Not only have we worked to love and educate the children placed within our care, but through the work of our Outreach Ministry, we are able to care for other needs as well.  We know that it can be difficult for students to focus on literature or math when they are lacking the basic necessities of life.  Our Outreach Department fills those gaps.  There, our students can find clothing, hygiene products, food, and basic school supplies all at no cost to them or their families.  And the care doesn’t stop there.  We have partnered with many loving churches who send volunteers for home repairs for families all over our region at no cost to the families.   We are also blessed through the help of our many benefactors to hand out gifts to hundreds of children during the Christmas season to families who may not be able to provide them with those little joys.  

St Joseph knew, and we know, that the key to fighting poverty is education.  We’ve seen students who have come from homes with no running water or electricity now living in abundance with families of their own because of Christ’s love and a good education. We’ve had parents who could never dream of attending college or even beginning to be able to pay for their children’s college tuition, watch their children get full scholarships to the colleges of their dreams and start the careers of their dreams.  

These dreams are all made possible through the generosity of our benefactors.  Your kindness enables families to overcome obstacles that many of us never even think of.  We are able, because of you, to share with these amazing students the love and generosity of Christ and to give them the best education possible.  Your kindness directly supplies these families with the ability to see their children and grandchildren live lives that they could only imagine, and we are so thankful to simply be part of it.  

God has richly blessed us to be able to be good stewards of what we have already been given, and we pray that you see the good work that is being done here, and help us continue this journey to see hundreds more children achieve their dreams.