St. Peter was a brother of St. Andrew and his original name was Simon.  These brothers were fishermen of the Sea of Galilee.  When Simon was about forty years old, his brother Andrew introduced him to Jesus, our Divine redeemer, who gave him the name of Peter.  In time, Jesus told both Peter and Andrew that if they followed him, he would make them fishers of men.  St. Peter and St. Andrew became two of the Apostles of Jesus.

St. Peter proved the weakness of human beings by being the one that betrayed Christ during his time on earth by three times denying that he knew Jesus.  However, even though he spoke betrayal, St. Peter’s heart remained loyal and dedicated to Jesus.  Because of his experience with failure, and the compassion and mercy given to him by God, St. Peter showed tenderness and compassion to other sinners.

When Jesus asked his disciples what they thought he was, Peter answered that Jesus was the Son of the living God.  Due to his deep faith and devotion, Jesus gave St. Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  St. Peter preached about Jesus to many and was the founder of the Church.  St. Peter was the first Pope or Vicar of Christ on Earth and was given wonderful power and jurisdiction.  St. Peter died in A.D. 65.  His feast day is on June 29th.

The first St. Peter parish school was opened in 1861 by Reverend Peter McGirr. This school was located south of the church which was on 8th and Maine Streets. It was staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame and had an enrollment of 250 students.

In 1921, the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood came to Quincy to staff St. Peter School, which was transferred to 11th and State Streets when Governor Wood’s property was purchased. Reverend John Driscoll was pastor at that time.

In 1949, the school building was built at 2500 Maine Street while Monsignor Thomas Cusack was pastor. This building was used as church and school until 1962. After the new church (the old church was destroyed by a tornado in 1945) was dedicated in January of 1962 with Reverend Joseph O’Brien as pastor, the church section in the main building was converted into classrooms. Eleven classrooms were located in this building. Three classrooms, a cafeteria, a meeting room and a kitchen were located in the lower level of the church building. The library, St. Peter Holy Childhood Pre-School, and the computer lab were located in Father Tolton Hall (the former convent).

A new gym and kindergarten classroom were completed for use in August of 1979 under the direction of Reverend Arthur LeBreton, pastor.
Father Roy Bauer came to St. Peter Parish in May of 1985. During his arrival a new playground area and additional parking was being constructed east of the present complex. This was completed in 1987.

The year 1988 marked the beginning of several new educational programs: Learning Disabilities/Remedial Resource classroom, Educable Mentally Handicapped (EMH) classroom, and the Holy Childhood Pre-School. In 1990 a primary EMH program became a part of the special education program. A full time vocal music teacher was added to the staff in 1991. In 1999 the music program was discontinued.

In keeping with modern technology the school incorporated into the curriculum the use of computers with the addition of the networked IBM computer lab in 1992. In 1995 a full time computer teacher was added to the program. During the summer of 1999 the computer lab was updated by replacing the original computers with 34 new workstations and a new system.

TIMELINE

• Spring 1993- The St. Peter School Advisory Board was formed. The Board is an advisory board dealing with matters pertaining to the educational programs and facilities of the parish school.
• 1994-1995 school year – beginning of a full time P.E. program.
• 2000-2001 school year – music was reinstated in the curriculum.
• 2001-2002 – Addition of new Kindergarten on South end of the gym; St. Peter School began all day kindergarten.
• October of 2001 – Seton Hall, which houses grades 7 & 8 was completed. This new addition allowed for space in the church basement to convert two classrooms into a music room and a meeting room – the Martha Jane room. With the completion of this building the music program has its own room and the Martha Jane room is available for school and parish meetings.
• The EMH program closed its doors at the end of the 2003-2004 school year.
• Father Daniel Bergbower joined our parish family July 1, 2004 after the retirement of Father Roy Bauer June 30, 2004.
• Beginning of the 2005-2006 school year, the preschool became a part of St. Peter School due to the reorganization of the Quincy Catholic Schools.
• Summer of 2008 – ground breaking and construction of an addition to the original school building and an additional room behind the kindergarten south room. (Renovations on the Church of St. Peter began at this time also.) Father Bergbower completed four years as pastor of the Church of St. Peter on June 30, 2008, to become full time chaplain with the Air National Guard.
• Spring of 2009 the classrooms located in the basement of the church were moved to the new addition that was constructed on the south side of the existing 1949 school building.
• Father John Burnette served our parish family July 1, 2008 – October 2010.
• Summer of 2009 – completion of the new kindergarten room, the computer lab, the new entry into the school which included enclosing the walkway between the school and gym, remodeling the school office with a new entry door and windows for visibility into the hallway, and moving the preschool to the former kindergarten north classroom. The remaining classrooms in the 1949 building had additional electrical outlets and data ports installed and received a fresh coat of paint.
• Fr. Dan Bergbower returned and served as an interim pastor from October until the end of December in 2010.
• January 2011 – Msgr. Leo Enlow became our current pastor.
• Close of the 2010-2011 school year – Adopt-a-Desk drive took place. Generous donations by school parents and parishioners provided grades 1-6 with new desks for the 2011-2012 school year.
• Summer of 2011 – construction of the parking lot behind the school allowed for a separate area to load and unload buses.
• Summer of 2012 – advancements were made to support technology by installing an infrastructure for both the parish and school to support the future use of technology in the classrooms and campus.
• 2012-2013 – Preschool days increased from 2 days for 3 yr. olds to three days and from 3 days to four days for 4yr. old program. A new classroom was created in the basement of the church for the 3 year old program.
• Summer 2013 – Phones and security were updated.
• Summer 2014 – New playground, iPads for 3rd, 7th and 8th grade, roof on gym, church and rectory.
• June 2015 – Mrs. Janet Bick retires after 33 years at St. Peter (6 years of teaching, 27 as principal.)
• July 2015 – repairs to the gym ceiling & walls, newly paved parking lot, renovation of main school bathrooms
• Summer 2016 – Renovation/addition of school offices, book room/conference room, library, and 2nd grade classroom/concrete repair near between rectory and church/park road repaired, and cafeteria floor replaced along with cafeteria being repainted.
• During the winter of 2016-2017 new sheds behind the school building were constructed for both parish and school storage.
• Summer 2017 marked the removal of asbestos flooring in 1E, 2N, and first floor main hall. Additionally, the cafeteria bathrooms received new countertops, floor, and dividers. The 3-year-old preschool room also received new cabinets. Finally, the 2017-2018 school year presented a new opportunity for grades 7 & 8 by offering additional electives such as Spanish, Creative Writing, Health, etc.
• Addition of 2 new positions to meet the needs of our students – behavior interventionist and academic interventionist; adoption of FACTS tuition management system and online enrollment through FACTS SIS, flooring in Seton Hall bathrooms and Kindergarten bathrooms replaced, new steps on the South entry of Church, and air conditioning placed in the Martha Jane room.
• During the summer of 2019 air conditioning was replaced in classrooms and added in the halls. Additionally, all tile floors in the classrooms in the main building were replaced.
• In March of 2020, the students did not return to school following Spring Break on the 23rd. The Governor instituted the stay-at-home order due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Students and staff ended the 4th quarter by participating in distance learning. Several dates were scheduled for parents to pick up packets to continue their education as well as to learn virtually using their iPads under teacher direction.
• The Covid-19 pandemic continued for the 2020-2021 school year. Many adjustments and precautions were put in place in order for in person learning to occur.  Parents had the option to send their children in person or to learn remotely. This was known as the year of the masks” but we made it through the year successfully. We only had to implement distance learning for the whole school for 7 days due to the school office personnel being quarantined.
• During the summer of 2021 new flooring was laid in the gym lobby as well as the four-year old preschool.
• Additionally, a tribute was made to honor Fr. Tolton. The Fr. Tolton statue was moved away from the front of the school to an area near the southwest side of the Church. The story of Fr. Tolton was displayed in the form of marble plates on the wall leading from the school to the basement of the church.
• STEM LAB – began 2021-2022 School Year.
• In the spring of 2022, due to the great number of incoming kindergarten age students who were parishioners, the decision was made to create a third kindergarten classroom (Kindergarten West).  Mrs. Emily Riese was hired as a new kindergarten teacher.  Over the summer the library was moved to the basement of the church into the Maria Goretti room. Kindergarten West was placed in the main building where the library was previously located.
• Additionally, parking lots were sealed and restriped.
• Longtime employee, Sara Bradfield – administrative assistant, retired after 30 years of service to St. Peter School at the close of the 2021-2022 school year.
• The 2022-2023 School Year presented many opportunities for the St. Peter School family to support one another through various challenges of unforeseen events, tragedies, health concerns, house fires, etc. Through God’s grace we came together as a school family and parish to support one another during the most difficult of times.
• A “House System” was implemented consisting of 10 houses identified by saint names.  Each house consists of students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade.  Students will remain in their house upon their graduation or last year of attendance.
• SUMMER 2023 – During the summer of 2023 several classrooms received new Smart Projectors to replace old Smart boards. Additionally, upgrades to our school and church security were made.
• School Year 2024 – The capital campaign kicked off for the building of a cafeteria and additional classrooms that will be located between Seton Hall and the main school building.  Construction may begin in 2025.
• Fr. Leo was scheduled to retire in May of 2024 but due to the building project Bishop Paprocki allowed for him to remain.
• The school gym floor was removed and replaced with a wooden floor over the summer. Completion of the floor took place in October of 2024.  An improved sound system was installed in the January 2025 to improve the system.
• Talks continue with a Long Range Plan for the future of the Catholic Schools.
• St. Peter continually grows and adapts to change each year. All teachers and the principal have a degree and are certified to teach in the state of Illinois. The average class size is twenty-two students.