During Catholic Schools Week, we celebrate the stories that reflect faith lived out through generations, rooted in community, and passed on with love. One of those stories comes full circle this year as we have our first student who is now a TFS parent. 

A member of one of TFS’s first graduating classes, Lauren Johnson attended The Franciscan School from 5th through 8th grade and graduated in 2004, just a few years after the school first opened its doors. Now, more than two decades later, she finds herself back in these halls, watching her son, Paul, begin his TFS journey as a kindergartener in Ms. Brunson’s class. 

For Lauren, choosing TFS wasn’t just about returning to a beloved school. “Paul is our most precious blessing, and choosing whom we entrust with his care and education was not a decision my husband and I took lightly. Like all parents, we want to provide our child with a strong educational and moral foundation so he can live a full and fulfilling life. TFS not only offers this strong faith-based foundation, but it is also part of a community we were already rooted in and that we deeply trusted. Sending Paul to TFS was a clear choice.”

Lauren has celebrated every sacrament from baptism to marriage at St. Francis of Assisi, so she wanted to continue a lifelong relationship with a community that has shaped every stage of her faith journey. As both a TFS alum and a St. Francis parishioner, Lauren’s connection to the school and community runs deep. She remembers youth lock-ins in the old gymnasium, foam ice cream shooters at the Harvest Moon Festival, Passover dinners shared with her F.I.R.E. (Family Intergenerational Religious Education) group, and, most of all, the constant sense of community and God’s love. 

This sense of community extends even further, reaching back to the school’s earliest days. Lauren’s parents, Randy and Anna Fowler, were part of the St. Francis community long before TFS existed, joining the parish in 1990 and witnessing firsthand the dream of a Catholic school come to life. “TFS is the fruit of the hard work of many families,” share the Fowlers. “When we decided to send our child to TFS, we did not yet know what TFS would become. We are blessed to say that it turned out better than we could have hoped for. We were so pleased with how Lauren grew and thrived there that we enrolled our son, Bryan, in kindergarten at TFS.”

Today, watching their grandson walk the same halls as their daughter and son is nothing short of a blessing. “Having our grandson go to TFS feels like we won the lottery,” they share. “It is rare that a child ends up going to the same elementary school as a parent. We know God is the designer of the fact that our sweet grandson, Paul, is there, and we are blessed.”

One of Lauren’s favorite parts about TFS is the weekly all-school Mass, which she describes as a powerful reflection of the faith-based community TFS has built. At a recent Mass, she got goosebumps listening to the children sing Way Maker. “It was the most joyful, heartfelt expression of their faith.”

During Catholic Schools Week, stories like this remind us that The Franciscan School is a living legacy lovingly passed from one generation to the next.