St. Aloysius Catholic School

Yoder, Allen County; classes began 1876, the brick schoolhouse of 1882 (parish from 1858 on the genealogical society's list)

The parish: Yoder is an unincorporated community in Pleasant Township, in southwestern Allen County, and the parish there is one of the county's old country parishes. The Allen County Genealogical Society's church list dates St. Aloysius Catholic Church from 1858, with a cemetery, and the Allen County Public Library's church records guide carries the parish registers, baptisms, marriages, confirmations and deaths, from 1860 to 1958 on diocesan microfilm. The group entry in this history consulted other sources and found the parish's founding year not stated in them; the 1858 stands here as the genealogical society's date. At the time of the brick schoolhouse there were forty families in the parish, and the school was free to all of its members.

The school of 1876: The parish tells its own turn to schooling this way: "In 1876, in an effort to secure the teaching of Catholic doctrine to our young people in the faith, focus shifted to the development of a parish school. In 1882, St. Aloysius School was built and holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously run Catholic school in the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese." The parish newspaper of record, The Waynedale News, told the fuller story at the school's one hundred fortieth anniversary, celebrated with an open house on October 16, 2016: the school "first opened in 1876 and was just a small-frame building, used for classes only two or three months a year," mostly to prepare children for their first Holy Communion, and when Father Ferdinand opened the place he had just thirty-eight pupils. In 1879 Joseph Kenning became the school's teacher, followed by Robert Gruber, and the diocese then contracted with the Sisters of St. Agnes of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to teach there; Sister Mary Lucilla was the first religious principal. The entry is keyed to the classes of 1876, with the schoolhouse of 1882 beside it, and the editor may prefer the later year; the record carries both.

The schoolhouse and its successors: The original school was a two story brick schoolhouse erected in 1882 at a cost of $4,000, with forty-five children in the school. Indoor plumbing and a water fountain were installed in 1951. In 1955 a new four room school with a basement was erected, and as enrollment rose again in the 1990s a committee was formed to explore the school's future; its capital campaign added five new classrooms, a library, an office area and a community center and gymnasium, with construction completed by 2001. In the spring of 2023 a completely renovated library was unveiled.

The school today: St. Aloysius stands at 14607 Bluffton Road, telephone 260-622-7151, serving prekindergarten through eighth grade. The verified school directory counts eighty-six students and ten teachers, the figure the group entry in this history also gives, against one hundred eight students at the one hundred fortieth anniversary in 2016, and both counts are carried with their years. The school fields six interscholastic sports. Its open house notice of February 2026, in The Waynedale News, describes its mission as forming both saints and scholars, places the school currently in the top ten of all schools in the Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese, and states its commitment that no child is turned away because of a family's financial situation. The parish office and church carry a neighboring address, 14623 Bluffton Road, and the two addresses are printed as the parish's own pages give them.

People: Msgr. Bruce Piechocki is pastor, on the parish bulletin of January 25, 2026. Tina Voors was named principal on August 9, 2010, had taught German for eighteen years at DeKalb High School before coming to Yoder, and was principal at the anniversary in 2016; the school's current directory listing carries her as admissions director, with Sue Frauenfelder as admissions associate. The bulletin of January 2026 gives the school's contact as a principal's email address and names no principal, and no school, parish or diocesan source reached for this entry names the present holder; the chair is therefore printed open here, as the record stands. One name is refused on the record: the Knights belong to the parish's Knights of Columbus council, standing at the parish address since 1940, and to another St. Aloysius school's newsletter far from Allen County, not to this school's teams, and no mascot is printed for St. Aloysius of Yoder.

Sources:

1. St. Aloysius Catholic Church and School, parish site (stalyoder.org): the parish school begun in 1876, the school built in 1882, and the claim of the oldest continuously run Catholic school in the diocese
2. The Waynedale News, October 21, 2016, "St. Aloysius School Celebrates 140th Anniversary": the frame school of 1876, Father Ferdinand's 38 pupils, Joseph Kenning and Robert Gruber, the Sisters of St. Agnes, and 108 students in 2016
3. St. Aloysius Catholic School, About Us (saintaloysiusyoder.info): the brick schoolhouse of 1882 at $4,000, the school of 1955, the campaign completed by 2001 and the library of 2023
4. Private School Review, St. Aloysius School, Yoder (verified school update): 86 students, 10 teachers, six sports, and Tina Voors as admissions director
5. Today's Catholic, August 25, 2010: Tina Voors named principal on August 9, 2010
6. St. Aloysius parish bulletin, January 25, 2026 (DiscoverMass): Msgr. Bruce Piechocki, pastor; the school at 14607 Bluffton Road and the parish office at 14623 Bluffton Road
7. The Waynedale News, February 27, 2026, open house notice: saints and scholars, the top ten standing in the diocese, and no child turned away
8. Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana, church list of Allen County: St. Aloysius, Pleasant Township, from 1858; Allen County Public Library, church records guide: the registers of 1860 to 1958