We blend learning with faith and faith with life.
Our School
When children come to Metro Catholic, they join a diverse, dynamic, faith-filled community where each student can grow to their fullest potential, with the knowledge, skills, and habits they need to thrive.
Diversity is the strength of our community. Our preschool to eighth-grade students come from many nationalities and multiple religious backgrounds. From breakfast in the morning through busy school days into one of the many after-school activities our students enjoy, we are all united in a single belief: that every student deserves to flourish fully.
At Metro Catholic, we don’t just teach our students; we nurture them so that they grow academically, socially, and spiritually. Our graduates gain the tools they need to unlock opportunities, maintain healthy friendships, and encounter the fulfillment that can only come in service to others.
Our History
While Metro Catholic is just 35 years old, our students inherit a legacy dating back more than 150 years.
For over 150 years, the Sisters of Notre Dame have been proclaiming God’s goodness and compassionate love for people of all faiths and cultures in the Catholic schools of Cleveland’s west side. Metro Catholic came into existence in 1988 thanks to the sisters’ vision, and our school remains rooted in the zeal of its founding mothers—and in a legacy that stretches back to our city’s earliest days.
In 1869, German immigrant families found in Cleveland what they could not find back in their homeland: the freedom to educate their children in the newly established St. Stephen Catholic School. In the decades that followed, other parishes on the west side of Cleveland established similar schools—including St. Boniface and St. Michael.
In the mid-1980’s, three women—Sr. Grace Corbett, SND, Sr. Regina Davala, SND, and Sr. Virginia Reesing, SND, principals of those three parish schools, saw the city changing rapidly and had the courage to change with it. To continue the legacy of quality education for families of modest means, they led the merging of the three parish schools—St. Boniface, St. Michael, and St. Stephen.
The educational principles of the Sisters of Notre Dame permeate Metro to this day:
- The centrality of a good and provident God
- The human dignity of each person as an image of God
- The Notre Dame educator as Gospel witness
- And an integrated education for transformation.
In 2022, Metro Catholic innovated again by joining the Partnership Schools, a vibrant network of Catholic elementary schools working in the heart of New York and Cleveland. For more on the Partnership, click here.
Core Values
At Metro Catholic, as in all Partnership Schools, we embrace four core values that guide all we do: integrity, humility, hard work, and service.
Integrity
I watch what I do to see what I believe.
– Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ
Integrity means that our actions reflect our beliefs and live up to our moral ideals. We hold all in our communities to the highest academic and ethical standards, both within the walls of our school buildings and as representatives in our communities. As we equip our students with a clear understanding of the moral principles and virtues of the Catholic faith, we instill habits of honesty, forthrightness, and respect for themselves and others.
Humility
Those who humble themselves will be exalted.
– Luke 14:11
Integrity means that our actions reflect our beliefs and live up to our moral ideals. We hold all in our communities to the highest academic and ethical standards, both within the walls of our school buildings and as representatives in our communities. As we equip our students with a clear understanding of the moral principles and virtues of the Catholic faith, we instill habits of honesty, forthrightness, and respect for themselves and others.
Hard Work
If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
– Frederick Douglass
Each of us is made uniquely by God for greatness. In order to fully develop the gifts God gave us, hard work provides opportunities for us to sharpen our skills, develop our talents, and strengthen our minds and hearts for life’s journey. Effort, persistence, and determination are essential to learning and success in life. Hope alone does not result in success; we seek to instill in our students a work ethic marked by tenacity, stamina, and zeal.
Service
Only a life lived for others is worthwhile.
– Albert Einstein
At Partnership Schools, we believe that we are made for each other, so we aim to develop young men and women for others. When we see God in others, we think less of ourselves and so put others first. Our teachers “fan into a flame the gifts God gave” each child (2 Timothy 1), cultivating their gifts, broadening their understanding of the community and the world, and offering their gifts in service of our local neighborhood.
Principles
The educational principles of the Sisters of Notre Dame permeate Metro Catholic to this day.
- The centrality of a good and provident God;
- The human dignity of each person as an image of God;
- The Notre Dame educator as Gospel witness.
- And an integrated education for transformation.
Leadership Team
Principal Allison Klutarich and a caring support team work on behalf of Metro Catholic’s students, families, and staff every day.
Allison Klutarich, Principal
klutaricha@metrocatholic.net
Bob Finkovich, Director of School Operations
finkovichr@metrocatholic.net
Lisa Marynowski, Dean of Early Childhood Education Campus
marynowskil@metrocatholic.net
Joe Prada, Director of Development
pradaj@metrocatholic.net
