Posted April 28, 2016

St. Martin of Tours School in the Oxford Circle section of Northeast Philadelphia celebrated its 90^th anniversary with the inaugural “Together Towards Tomorrow” celebration held April 16 at Williamson Caterers, Horsham.

The gala connected alumni, business leaders and educators to generate enthusiasm and support for the ongoing growth at St. Martin’s, now an Independence Mission School.

More than $65,000 was raised by the 300 attendees who shared memories of growing up in Oxford Circle at St. Martin of Tours.

[hotblock]

The gala also honored three individuals, Chalie (Charles) Craige (Alumni of the Year and class of 1975), Sister Stephen Anne Roderiguez, I.H.M., principal of St. Aloysius Academy in Bryn Mawr (Educator of the Year) and William Hunt, CEO of Agusta Westland (Business Leader of the Year).

St. Martin of Tours first opened its doors Sept. 8, 1925 as three I.H.M. Sisters instructed 71 students. That enrollment number would balloon to its peak in 1970 to 2,749 students, making it the largest elementary school in the United States.

St. Martin of Tours School became one of the Independence Mission Schools, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit foundation formed in 2012 in response to the threatened loss of inner-city parish schools.

Since that time enrollment has doubled and today St. Martin offers an affordable, high-quality Catholic education to children of all faiths.