St. Raphael Nursery School teacher Betty Mullaly greets students in the mid-1970s.

Our beginnings go back as far as 1969, when St. Raphael Nursery School began in space rented from St. Raphael Church as a non-sectarian program for 3- and 4-year-olds. In the early years, SRNS operated as a semi-cooperative organization managed by parents. In 1989, the preschool began operating under the auspices of St. Raphael Parish and grew so much in popularity that parents slept overnight to secure coveted spots for their children. Today, with 50 years of experience, St. Raphael Nursery School offers one of the strongest and largest early-childhood programs in the area. Our director, Teri Dwyer, has been with the nursery school since 1990. She is an inspiring leader and integral to the warm and welcoming environment for which SRNS is known.

The dream of adding an elementary and middle school first materialized under our late pastor, Fr. Bill Finch. Parishioner demand—and wait lists at a neighboring Catholic school that we co-sponsored—led Fr. Finch to ask the archdiocese to expand St. Raphael through eighth grade. In June 2006, St. Raphael School was dedicated as the newest school in the Archdiocese of Washington.

In August 2006, St. Raphael School opened with 31 new students in kindergarten and first grade. Teri Dwyer was named principal and continues to serve in that role—she was honored by the archdiocese as the 2018 Distinguished Principal of the Year. For the first five years, St. Raphael School operated out of the parish's Duffy Center, part of the original property that also houses St. Raphael Nursery School. During this time, plans were being drawn for a new building for St. Raphael School, which had been approved by the City of Rockville. In April 2009, before he could see his dream become a reality, Fr. Bill suffered a heart attack and died on Holy Thursday after celebrating Mass. Each autumn, we remember St. Raphael School’s founding pastor by hosting the Fr. Bill Finch Memorial St. Raphael Golf Classic in his name.

With courage and grace, Fr. Jim Meyers stepped in as pastor and continued the quest for our new building. In April 2010, amid much fanfare, St. Raphael School students donned hard hats, picked up shovels, and broke ground.

Students help break ground for the St. Raphael Educational Building in 2010.

Fr. Bill Finch, the founding pastor of St. Raphael School, enjoys opening day with second-graders in 2007.

Just one year later, in May 2011, the students and staff moved into the St. Raphael Educational Building. That October, the new building was dedicated and blessed. The students surprised guests with a flash mob, where they danced, pom-poms in hand, to “We Go Together” from the musical “Grease.”

Today, St. Raphael School is a state-of-the-art eco-friendly facility that offers not only large, light-filled classrooms, but also extra office and multipurpose space, a science lab, art and music rooms, and a school library and media center that overlooks the grounds. Nods to the community’s Catholic identity were subtly incorporated throughout the design, as illustrated by the tile floors inlaid with abstract cross patterns leading into each classroom.

After its inception, St. Raphael School grew by one grade every year. In 2013-14, SRS reached the eighth grade and graduated its first class. The milestones continue: In 2019, St. Raphael School was awarded the highest honor—a National Blue Ribbon for academic excellence.

The birth of St. Raphael School, and its continued success, is due to the commitment to Catholic education by the members of the St. Raphael community. As Fr. Meyers often said, "Fr. Bill may have planted the seed, but we, as a parish, have made it grow."

SRS graduates its first class in 2014. Teacher Cindy Buzby is shown with her eighth-grade students.