A History of St. Cecilia

As I am now back in Chuuk and preparing for a new school year at St. Cecilia, I thought this post might be applicable. This entry comes primarily from a long conversation I had in May of 2008 with Sr. Fostina, a Chuukese nun, alumna, and once principal of St. Cecilia School. This entry has also been informed by many other “mwichen mercedes,” graduates of St. Cecilia, who I have met throughout the past year in Micronesia. The following is a short history of St. Cecilia School, in Tunnuk village, on Weno island, where I am a teacher.

St. Cecilia School was founded in 1946 as an all girls diocesan school. The bishop of the Caroline Islands, which includes Chuuk, invited the MMB order of sisters to operate the school. The Mercedarian Missionaries of Berriz originated in the Basque region of Spain, Sr. Fostina, and the sisters who I work with at St. Cecilia today are members of this order. In order to understand St. Cecilia, I think it is important to understand the MMB sisters who are above all else committed to social justice and the liberation of women around the world. Through my conversations with them, and my experiences alongside them, I find the sisters to be incredibly down to earth, progressive, and dedicated women. The MMBs do not wear habits, they live simply in their home, get wet in the back of the truck on the way to work when it rains, and are the most capable and reliable teachers at St. Cecilia.

When St. Cecilia was founded, the school boarded the 5th through 8th grade girls, and was open for kindergarten through 8th grade. There was no tuition collected, as the school survived on funds from the diocese; food was provided by the sisters for the students. Sr. Fostina was a member of the first graduating class of St. Cecilia. She graduated in 1952 with a class of 9 girls.

In 1960 the Mercedarians open the school for boys as well. Tuition began to be collected at $1 a month. By this time the school had earned the reputation as the best school in Micronesia. Students came from other states in the F.S.M. and other Micronesian islands to attend the school. Sr. Fostina described the physical space as “spic and span.” Consistently among all of the alumni who I speak to, they describe the strict policies of the nuns. Alumni also include that the discipline they received, especially with regard to speaking English in order to better learn the language, has been something they deeply value as they have grown older.

In the ‘60s the school grew to include the second building of two floors, which is now the main building of the school. The dorms were moved from the now first and second grade classrooms to the 2nd floor of the main building. Today’s 8th grade classroom was once the dining hall and kitchen of the boarders. What is now an area for picnic tables outside the office, were classrooms at this time.

Euka, an alumna who I worked with this summer, described St. Cecilia as a, “perfect school for traditional Chuukese girls,” because it incorporated Chuukese culture with a valuable education. The school taught mostly in English, giving the students a good opportunity for secondary and higher education, but also functioned within cultural norms. Euka graduated from the school in the 1970’s.

In the 1980’s Sister Fostina returned to the school having joined the religious order that had educated her at St. Cecilia. As an MMB sister, she worked as the principal of the school for 4 years. During her time as principal Jesuit Volunteers were working and living at the school. Their residence was what the school office is now. I do not know the exact dates for JV’s work at St. Cecilia. I know they lived at the school for some time, but discontinued at St. Cecilia in the 1990’s until 2007 when I began working at the school.

During the 1990’s the Bishop and one Jesuit priest working in Micronesia, decided to build Saramen Chuuk Academy on Weno. This addition would make Saramen the 3rd Catholic school on the island, along with St. Cecilia, and Xavier High School; St. Cecilia and Saramen Chuuk being the two diocesan school and Xavier being operated by the Jesuits. In order to build S.C.A. the clergy opted to utilize St. Cecilia’s resources as start up funds. As the building for S.C.A. was being constructed, the first S.C.A. classes were held at St. Cecilia in the former dining hall and kitchen area. This year ended the period in which students were able to board at the school, as they no longer had eating facilities. The following year S.C.A moved out to another building in Nepukos village for one year until it began operation on its contemporary campus.

At the time of S.C.A’s startup, Sr. Fostina accounted for $90,000 in St. Cecilia’s bank accounts, the results of tuition collection and fundraising by the sisters. This money was used by the Bishop to pay for the building costs for the Saramen Chuuk campus. Apparently the bishop’s decision created controversy within the diocese and among the MMB sisters who believed the money should be used for St. Cecilia. The MMB sister acting as principal disagreed with the Bishop’s use of the money so strongly that she decided to step down from her role as principal of the school.

Following the MMB’s administration at St. Cecilia a female Chuukese woman from the outer islands named Dolores was appointed as principal and worked in that capacity for six years. After Dolores’ administration at St. Cecilia in 1995 or ‘96, Mariano, the founding principal of Saramen Chuuk, came to St. Cecilia and became principal. Mariano is a Chuukese man who holds a masters degree in education from the University of San Francisco in the U.S.

Mariano was the principal of St.Cecilia School for 11 years, including my first semester teaching there. Early in Mariano’s time as principal, Jesuit Volunteers left the school. During his administration the school was taking money from income tax and social security out of the teachers’ paychecks. The school began accruing debt.

When I entered the school as a teacher in the fall of 2007, St. Cecilia was in $30,000 of debt. The building had fallen into disrepair. Windows go uncovered, chalkboard paint peels off as you write, and holes accumulate in the floorboards. In December of 2007, after discussions with the school board, Mariano stepped down as principal. The vice principal, Kaspar worked as acting principal for the remainder of the school year.

The school faces very different obstacles today that it once did. St. Cecilia no longer is considered the best elementary school in Micronesia. It has the lowest passing rate of all Micronesian Catholic elementary schools into Xavier High School. Sr. Sisca, a St. Cecilia alumna and now MMB sister and teacher at the school tells me about how difficult it is for her to see St. Cecilia today after graduating from there in the 1980’s. She tells me this one story of her and Sr. Fostina visiting the school in the 1990’s during the beginning of its decline. It was the first time she had seen the school in many years and she and Sr. Fostina were brought to tears at the sight of it, noting how carelessly it had been taken care of.

Though St. Cecilia struggles today, there are many people working at the school attempting to bring the level of education back up. The Mercedarian sisters and the St. Cecilia alumni play an integral role in supporting the school. We are beginning the 2008-2009 school year with a new administration…and much hope.