About Our Building
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St. Mary's Academy on its Day of Dedication
September 7, 1891
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From its
inception as St. Mary’s Academy in 1887, the building later known as St.
Patrick’s School would operate as a Catholic school in Danville for
more than a century. The Sisters of the Holy Cross began raising funds
for the second St. Patrick School in 1887, the same year that the city
of Danville became part of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, Illinois.
The Catholic all-girl boarding house St. Mary’s Academy opened on
September 7, 1891 with an enrollment of 200 pupils. The building was
later dedicated on November 8, 1891. The cost of the building was
reported to be $30,000 and tuition to attend the school was set at $75
for a five month period. The Sisters who ran the school taught a
curriculum of “a regular academic course” as well as vocal and
instrumental music, drawing, painting, and fancy work.
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St. Patrick's School
(After its 1910 Renovation)
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The
building would be known as St. Mary’s Academy until around 1910 when it
became known as St. Patrick’s School and began admitting boys as well as
girls. Also in 1910 the west façade of the building was completely
redone and the interior of the building was painted. The structure and
square footage of the building was maintained at 19,986 square feet.
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St. Patrick's School and Church
(Note the new building addition on the far left)
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In 1956 plans to expand the school were
proposed and after several years of planning and construction. The
master plan called for not only a remodel/renovation of the St. Patrick
building, but also the construction of an entire new building addition
(the building now known as Kenneth D. Bailey Academy). The cost of
remodeling/renovating the old building was reported to be $50,000, while
the cost of constructing the new building was $300,000. The new
addition was completed before the opening of the 1961 school year and
had a square footage of 20,606 square feet. The expanded St. Patrick’s
School would open in 1961 with an enrollment of 495 students, including
55 Kindergarten students.
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Holy Family School, 2010
(Note the original St. Patrick's building on the right as well as the newer addition on the left)
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On August 29, 1978, the school known as St.
Patrick’s was renamed Holy Family School in a move that also combined
two of the Catholic parishes of Danville, St. Patrick and St. Joseph.
Holy Family School had an initial enrollment of 245 students when it
opened under its new name in 1978.
Holy Family School closed its doors after
the 2011 school year. The building sat vacant for the summer and fall
of 2011 as the teachers and students were moved into the newly developed
Schlarman Academy with all K-8 Catholic students attending one campus
(formerly known as St. Paul’s School) and all 9-12 students attending
another campus (the site of Schlarman High School).
Danville School District No. 118 elected to
purchase the building from the Catholic Diocese of Peoria in the spring
of 2012 and plans were made to demolish the older St. Patrick’s building
as it would take too much money to bring it up to building code. The
expansion of the building built in 1961 would become the new home of all
alternative programs for District 118, and was decided to be named
Kenneth D. Bailey Academy, in honor of the Congressional Medal of Honor
recipient from Danville.
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Kenneth D. Bailey Academy, 2012
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Kenneth D. Bailey Academy officially opened
its doors on August 27, 2012 with an enrollment of 84 students; 44 high
school students and 40 middle school students. The building was
dedicated on September 27, 2012, the 60th anniversary of Major Bailey’s
death.
Written by
Parker Sands