Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic School

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way out in Williamson County, there's a school with roots that go deep, deep into the Czech and Moravian community that put down stakes here. It started, as so many good things do, with a church.

Saints Cyril and Methodius Church came first, and then, eight years after that founding, in 1899, the parishioners looked around at their children and decided a school was the next order of business. Now, these were people who knew what they valued, and what they valued was education. So they built one.

A small frame schoolhouse, modest as you'd expect, but it was theirs. Then in 1901, the Sisters of Divine Providence arrived, and what followed was a long, long affiliation of providing teachers for the school. Long.

The kind of long that means something. Over the years, as more students came through those doors, the little frame schoolhouse gave way to larger brick buildings, because that's what you do when the community keeps growing and the commitment stays steady. For a time, classes were conducted in Czech, and the students came exclusively from the parish itself.

That was the world the school was born into. But here's the thing about a school with real roots: it can grow without losing what it was. Classes are no longer conducted in Czech, and the students no longer come exclusively from the parish, but SS.

Cyril and Methodius School still carries that early heritage forward, right there in its commitment to a sound education for every student who walks through its doors. Some things get bigger. Some things get broader.

And some things, if they were built right from the start, just keep on standing.

What the marker says

In 1899, eight years after the founding of Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, its Czech/Moravian parishioners established a school for their children. In 1901 the Sisters of Divine Providence began their long affiliation of providing teachers for the school. Educational facilities grew from a small frame schoolhouse to larger brick buildings as student enrollment increased over time. Although classes no longer are conducted in Czech and the students no longer are exclusively from the parish, SS. Cyril and Methodius School continues to reflect its early heritage in its commitment to a sound education for its students. (2001)