SANFORD — St. Thomas School is expanding to add grades seven and eight over the next two years.

The expansion was announced Monday by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland following a two-year feasibility study. Currently, the parochial school teaches pre-kindergarten to sixth grade.

Principal Donna Jacques said people had asked over the years if any thought had been given to adding grades.

“We had (the question) a lot from families coming in,” she said Monday.

The expansion comes at a time when enrollment is up. Now at 161, enrollment had plummeted to a low of 134 a few years ago, Jacques said.

Fifteen to 25 seventhgrade students are expected begin classes in September. Eighth-grade classes are slated to begin in fall 2017.

Because recruitment for new pre-school, kindergarten and first-grade students hasn’t yet commenced, it’s too soon to project total school enrollment for this fall, Jacques said. Still, adding the new grade will mean one new full-time teacher and possibly a new part-time educator this fall, depending on enrollment.

The expansion is good news for the city, said Bob Kiley said as he picked up his three sons on Monday. He’s the product of a parochial school education in Massachusetts, where he was raised.

“Any time you can add something academically, its good for the entire community,” said Kiley, who was a member of the feasibility committee that examined the expansion possibility.

While there had been some prior efforts at adding grades at St. Thomas, Kiley said that with buzz about the new Sanford High School and Regional Technical Center, it seemed like a good time to go ahead with an expansion of the parochial school.

St. Thomas School was created 44 years ago, when there were three Catholic parishes in Sanford and Springvale village. The three parishes united into St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish several years ago.

“The exciting news is the direct result of the support and vision offered by parents, teachers, staff, and school board members who were dedicated to seeing this dream come true,” said Jacques in a news release issued Monday.

Bishop Robert P. Deeley said the expansion “answers the prayers of many families, teachers and staff.”

“This also provides other families in the area with a new option for their children as they mature as students and young people,” Deeley added. “St. Thomas is a school in which students are discovering how to joyfully live their lives with faith in the world.”

The bishop noted that many students who attend St. Thomas go on to earn academic honors in high school. Last June, valedictorians at two local high schools were St. Thomas alumni, he said.

The ad hoc feasibility committee studied enrollment projections and fundraising, shaped a vision and gained parish support, according to Diocesan spokesman Dave Guthro.

The addition of the grades was recommended to Jim King, superintendent of Maine Catholic Schools, and the diocese by the parish’s pastoral council, finance council and school board with the approval of Father Philip A. Tracy, pastor of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish.

“The middle school years can be a challenging time for students and their parents,” Tracy said. “I am confident that many will recognize our strong academics, our offerings of a foreign language, the arts and music in each grade and our focus on a value-based environment as significant benefits for their child’s education.”

Jacques noted the students’ and the school’s commitment to reaching out to others, including collecting donations for food pantries, visiting local nursing homes and performing other acts of selflessness.

Kiley said St. Thomas School has a number of good qualities and not just academic ones.

“It that ‘small school’ feel,” he said. “Its like a big family.”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.