New day care center offered at St. Joseph’s School, Devils Lake

The little feet that pitter-patter through the halls of St. Joseph School in Devils Lake have recently gotten considerably smaller. Since the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, St. Joseph now offers daycare for “Wee Disciples,” those aged three years and younger. The goal is to offer these toddlers a safe, warm, prayerful environment.

Father Chad Wilhelm, pastor of St. Joseph Church, St. Joseph School, and St. Mary Academy, and myself established the Wee Disciples Daycare in response to the needs of the community in Devils Lake. Daycare opportunities were disappearing, so it just made sense to open one in the school. Caring for people from the earliest age throughout their lives—as Father Wilhelm put it, “from womb to eternity,”—is the mission of the Church.

Not only is this daycare a blessing to the children who attend it, a place where the children “know they’re special,” it’s also a service to their families. The Catholic Church seeks “to accompany women not only through pregnancy, be it planned or unplanned, but also to birth and beyond, to affordable daycare,” in the words of Father Wilhelm. Although it is not necessary to have older siblings in preschool, kindergarten, the elementary or middle school offered in the same building, if there is another child in the family, this offers the convenience of a “one-stop shop.” It’s so nice because they can all be together. From your baby to your 14-year-old, it’s all the same building. It’s good for the big kids to have interaction with the babies, and vice-versa.

The Wee Disciples currently has nine children, but will have ten beginning in November, when the first grade teacher returns from maternity leave with her baby. Several teachers have recently retired, after having taught at St. Joseph’s for decades, and their replacements have been younger women with small children. Being able to have their babies right down the hall from their classrooms gives them the peace of mind to be able to resume teaching, often a financial necessity for their families.

The Wee Disciples Daycare, and indeed all the divisions of education at St. Joseph and St. Mary’s Academy, are open to everyone, not just Catholics. The daycare, however, currently has no openings, because during this initial year, the administration thought it best to take it slow. The St. Joseph family rejoices over these, their tiniest new members, and looks forward to offering their hearts and love to even more children in the near future.