Holy Cross School was opened in November of 1927 with a faculty consisting of three Ursuline nuns and one lay teacher. The first principal was Sister Mary St. John Glathart and the enrollment in the school was 91. The first graduating class for the 1927-1928 school year consisted of three students. By September of 1928, the student body increased to 135.
In June of 1944, construction began on a much needed addition to the school. The addition was a wing on the north side of the building consisting of six classrooms. This new wing was opened in February of 1945, and at this time, there were nine faculty members and the Class of 1945 numbered 42. Because of the ever increasing enrollment, during 1954 and 1955, the seventh and eighth grade boys used classrooms at Saint Joseph High School, which is located down the street from Holy Cross.
In 1958, a new wing consisting of six rooms was added to the south side of the school. By that time there were 20 faculty members, 12 religious and eight lay teachers. The Class of 1959 was 115.
The hallways of the school heard the footsteps of as many as 1, 050 students during the 1962-63 school year, and in June of 1963, Holy Cross graduated the largest class with 143 students.
During the first 71 years, the school witnessed many changes. In July of 1990, Mrs. Sharon Stupica was appointed as the first lay principal of the of Holy Cross School. The faculty that year consisted of two Ursuline nuns and fifteen lay teachers.
The first kindergarten class was opened in 1991 with 44 students attending half day kindergarten in either a morning or afternoon session. By 2005, Holy Cross School was conducting two full day, every day kindergarten classes.
The 1990’s was an era of renovation and building expansion for the parish and the school. The church was renovated and on Christmas Eve of 1997, parishioners celebrated the birth of Christ in the newly renovated worship space of the church. In the spring of 1998, the gym was completed and it physically linked the school to the church. Students began attending physical education classes in a real gymnasium instead of the church hall.
The 1990’s also saw a renovation of the church hall kitchen and the inauguration of a hot lunch program which daily serves the students of the school. By the new millennium very few students chose to go home for lunch. The school library and the computer lab were renovated and equipped with state of the art computer technology.
The new millennium has also brought with it numerous changes that have brought about enhanced faith formation, technology advances, increased extra-curricular activities, and a re-energizing of the community.
While the majority of students are Catholic and members of Holy Cross Parish, non-Catholics are being welcomed into the school community. The first half of the first decade of the new century has brought with it many opportunities for faith formation for Holy Cross students including Generations of Faith and the initiation of the Catholic Church tradition of morning prayer. While the computer lab and the classrooms have been equipped with state of the art computer desk sets and laptops, the addition of interactive whiteboards in all 18 classrooms has provided what seems to be unlimited innovations in instruction. Extra-curricular activities have grown to include such popular groups as a spiritual life club, book clubs, a debate club, a Scrabble club, and a chess club. In order to make extra-curricular activities more accessible to more and younger students, many clubs meet during the lunch recess period.
The community of Holy Cross is being re-energized in many ways including through the Generations of Faith gatherings. Life on the Lake is a major benefit held annually to raise money for the school and to provide an event for parishioners, school parents and guardians, friends, families and neighbors to come together to visit with one another while raising money for Holy Cross School.
For 80 years, Holy Cross Parish has provided Catholic education for the children of the parish and children in our Euclid - Cleveland neighborhood. With the support of the parish and the community, Holy Cross School continues to maintain a strong and important presence in the community.
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