Guardian Of Values Parochial School Has Been Educating Generations Of Colton-Area Catholics

The teacher gave the third- and fourth-grade class a stern lecture on proper playground behavior.

Students at Guardian Angel/St. Boniface School listened quietly as Wes Clizer, also the school’s principal, instructed them to treat one another with respect.

“I want you to think about the Christian attitudes you are supposed to be demonstrating,” Clizer said.

For a little more than 100 years, the parochial school has taught students reading, writing and arithmetic as well as Christian attitudes.

The school opened in 1894 and the first class of eighth-graders graduated 100 years ago. In many families, several generations of students have attended.

“They’ve had such a good Catholic education going back to their parents and grandparents. They want to keep their tradition,” said Sister Melissa Cruz, who was a principal at the school in the 1960s and still tutors some of the children.

Guardian Angel is the only school in the Catholic Diocese of Spokane that is free to children whose families are parish members. Of 62 current students, 59 belong to parishes in Colton and nearby Uniontown and attend at no cost. The other three students commute from Pullman and Moscow, Idaho.

Parents and teachers at Guardian Angel feel strongly that combining religion and education best prepares the children for the future.

“We like to have our faith taught as part of education,” said Rose Smetana, who sends her son and daughter to the school. “It’s very important in our lives.”

Teacher Debie Moody, who also has taught in public schools, appreciates the support of the parents and the freedom to use religion to help instruct the children.

“I wouldn’t teach anywhere else,” she said. “I think you have way more support from the parents, so you can demand more of the kids.”

Colton and Uniontown, about 15 miles south of Pullman, have a combined population of slightly more than 600 people.

About 100 children attend the only public grade school in the towns, Colton Elementary School.

Most children who complete eight years at Guardian Angel go on to Colton High School, Clizer said. The seventh- and eighth-graders take gym and band at the public high school.

“This is a heavily Catholic community,” said Dale Foley, superintendent of the Colton Public School District. “As a public school official, I respect the values the kids receive from parochial instruction.”

For many of the children, Guardian Angel is the only school they know.

“It’s fun and you learn a lot here,” said Allen Druffel, a fifth-grader.

Smetana, whose daughter is a fourth-grader, brought in chocolate cake to celebrate a recent soccer win over a parochial school class from Clarkston.

As the sugar took effect, the children chattered loudly. A few pushed and pinched other kids. Then, one girl burped in another student’s face.

That’s when Clizer decided he’d had enough.

“The next person I hear belching will spend the next three recesses inside,” he said.

Then, he ordered the children to sit quietly and read.

“I’m just glad I’m not teaching now,” said Sister Cruz. “Children are just too antsy nowadays.”