Catholic school raises money and changes name

St. Gabriel’s School in East Elmhurst held a name changing ceremony and a fundraiser to keep tuition down on Monday, November 10.
The Roman Catholic school, on 97th Street and Astoria Boulevard, will now be called The LaSalle School at St. Gabriel’s Parish. The renaming happened because three years ago a Catholic religious order known as the De LaSalle Christian Brothers took over the school, which had been under the control of the Brooklyn Diocese.
The takeover prevented the school from following the fate of many other Catholic schools throughout the country, which were forced to close due to declining enrollment and rising tuition.
On the day of the renaming ceremony The LaSalle also raised $75,000 to help keep the annual tuition for its 240 students at $3,700, explained Father Edward Shields, principal of the school and member of the De LaSalle Christian Brothers.
“It was absolutely wonderful,” he said, explaining that collecting this amount at a single event when the annual goal is $100,000 is an achievement.
A portion of the donations, $25,000, came from the Christian Brothers, while the rest came from school friends and alumni, Shields said.
One person who gave $5,000 at the event and has been donating regularly to the students, whose ages range from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, is John Fellin. He graduated from the school in 1969 and now sits on its board.
He said he donates because he wants to give back to the community of East Elmhurst, which has supported his catering business there.
“It’s more than just a school. It’s a center for the community,” Fellin said. He pointed out that the school has a number of programs, like basketball, which engage kids in constructive activities that keep them off the streets.
Meanwhile, Shields expressed his desire to find somebody who can donate $2 million, so that LaSalle can be tuition-free. And he’s confident it will happen. “Somebody is waiting for me to ask for that [money],” he said.