History
The Reverend Stephen Kiley, Pastor of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish, Sun Valley, California, first requested the Sisters of Providence to open a school in his parish in 1948. This request was denied due to lack of qualified teaching sisters, but the community was able to respond positively when Father Kiley reapplied for teachers in 1950.
Sister Agnes Clare, Principal, Sister Agnes, and two lay teachers opened the new school on September 20, 1950, with 197 children enrolled in grades one through four. Until the permanent school building could be constructed, the parish hall was partitioned into three classrooms, and a renovated utility house provided the fourth. Enrollment for the 1951-1952 school year grew to 410 children, with 99 first-graders and only one first-grade teacher; other grades were similarly over-crowded. The twelve-classroom school, built and occupied in several stages, was dedicated May 11, 1952.
At first, the sisters teaching at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary School lived in the convent of Saint Joseph Hospital, Burbank, California, and were under the authority of the hospital superior. In 1953, the parish purchased the lot at 7757 Cleon Avenue, adjacent to the school, and began construction of a two-story, brick convent. Sister Rosaleen was appointed as the first superior of the autonomous convent. The sisters lived in a small house owned by the hospital until August 29, 1955, when they were able to occupy the new convent.
In the sisters' twenty year tenure, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish had four pastors, and the relationship between pastor and religious community was generally amiable. However, during the 1970-1971 school year, a strong difference of opinion regarding the authority of the sister principal could not be reconciled, and the sisters reluctantly decided to withdraw from the school. Their departure on June 16, 1971, was greeted with regret on the part of the parents, tempered by gratitude for the contributions of the community over the previous two decades.
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Arrangement
The records of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary School are arranged in eight series, housed in two document boxes. The series are: history, administration, personnel, local community, financial, facility, reports, and subject series.
Scope and Contents
The collection comprises primarily chronicles, foundation documents, and correspondence, with a small amount of supporting materials. Records date from 1948 to 1971, with the bulk from 1954 to 1964. Of particular depth and interest is the correspondence, which includes detailed reports from the principal on the early years of the school and the decision to withdraw in 1971. The historical material and correspondence reflects the sisters' entire tenure at the school, while local community records begin only in 1954, when the sisters formed an autonomous house in preparation for the opening of the convent.
Series 1: History
The chronicles of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary School are well-written and complete, giving an excellent summary of the foundation of the school and the early years, and continuing through 1971. Alsoin this series is a brief history, which provides some additional anecdotes not found in the chronicles. (See also Subject Series: Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish for historical summaries contained in parish booklets.)
Series 2: Administration
This series features foundation request and approval letters, the sisters' 1950 agreement with the parish, and two folders of correspondence (1950-1971). Except for a few letters describing the opening of the school, the correspondence is primarily between the pastors of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish and the provincial superiors of Sacred Heart Province. It is quite frank and adds an interesting dimension to the history recorded in the chronicles. Key correspondents include the Reverend Robert E. Brennan and Louis V. Pick, Pastors; Mother Mary Philothea and Mother Mary Loretta, Provincial Superiors; and Sister Lauretta Frawley, Executive Secretary of the Education Division, Sacred Heart Province.
Also found here are the convent files of "circular letters" (duplicated copies sent to each institution in the province) from the superior general, provincial superior, and the Education Board.
Series 3: Personnel
This series is limited to a "faculty" folder, which contains reports detailing the educational background and professional involvement of the sisters and lay teachers, 1965-1967, and a folder of miscellaneous student-related information, including policy handbook and 1970-1971 student directory.
Series 4: Local Community
This series documents the governance and administration of the convent (local community). Found here are the incomplete records of the local community after 1954 when the convent was established as autonomous from Saint Joseph Hospital, Burbank. These include minutes of the local chapter meetings and the visitation of the provincial superior (proces verbal), the sisters' daily schedule (horarium), and the trimestrial (quarterly) and quinquennial (five year) reports required by the religious community.
Series 5: Financial
The only records in this series are an incomplete set of local council Acts of Council regarding loans and purchases (1956-1961) and two internal audit reports.
Series 6: Reports
Found here are a few brief school reports and evaluations (1955-1971), including some faculty evaluations. There are no Personnel and Works Reports for the period 1955-1971, although the chronicles record similar statistics. (Previous statistics are included in the Personnel and Works Reports of Saint Joseph Hospital, Burbank.)
Series 7: Facility
This series contains a description of chapel artwork, and a drawing of the first floor of the convent, made to the scale of "four of Sister M. Rose Ann's feet = one centimeter (about)."
Series 8: Subject Series
The folders in this series are arranged in alphabetical order. Of note is the 1958 parish directory, found in the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish folder, which contains information regarding school policies, tuition, etc.
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Restrictions
Providence Archives is a private repository; access to some records is at the discretion of the archivist.
Related Materials
From 1950 to 1954, the sisters lived at Saint Joseph Hospital, Burbank, California; therefore, some of their activities, as well as the school finances and statistics, are found in the records and chronicles of the hospital.
The records of the education apostolate and the Education Division of Sacred Heart Province contain related correspondence, reports, and the annual "school bulletin," a detailed report of enrollment statistics, student involvement in ancillary groups (e.g., Sodality, safety patrol), and special programs (music, vocational preparation, etc.)
See separate index for articles printed in the periodicals Caritas, Providence Sister, and The Good Work, published by the Sisters of Providence, Sacred Heart Province.
A small number of photographs are stored and inventoried separately.
Processed
December 23, 1998, by Terri Mitchell, Assistant Archivist
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BOX AND FOLDER LIST
SERIES 1: HISTORY
Box 1
Chronicles, 1950-1971
Box 2
Brief History, 1950-1963
SERIES 2: ADMINISTRATION
Box 2
Correspondence
Foundation Requests/Approval, 1948, 1950
General, 1950-1970
Withdrawal of Community, 1970-1971
Circular Letters
Superior General, 1955-1966
Education Board, 1966-1968
Provincial Superior, 1967-1970
Agreement with Parish, 1950
SERIES 3: PERSONNEL
Box 3
Faculty
Students
SERIES 4: LOCAL COMMUNITY
Box 3
Proces Verbal, 1958-1964
Local Chapter, 1958, 1964
Quinquennial Report, 1955-1966
Trimestrial Report, 1965-1967
Horarium
SERIES 5: FINANCIAL
Box 2
Local Council Acts of Council, 1954-1964
Audit Reports, 1958, 1964
SERIES 6: FACILITY
Box 2
Convent, 1955
SERIES 7: REPORTS
Box 2
Convent Report, Archdiocese of Los Angeles, 1956-1964
Miscellaneous Evaluation/Reports, c.1964-1971
SERIES 8: SUBJECT SERIES
Box 3
Class Photograph Folders
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish
Providence Auxiliary
Young Sisters Workshop, April 14-15, 1956
April 4, 2000
In 1950, the Sisters of Providence opened Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish School in Sun Valley, California, near Burbank. At the height of the post-war baby boom, classes of 60 pupils were not uncommon. The working-class parish sacrificed to support the school, and the sisters have rich memories of the warm and friendly people of Sun Valley.