Mission Statement

Our Lady of Good Counsel School is dedicated to providing a Christ-centered learning environment in which the uniqueness of each child is recognized and developed spiritually, emotionally and academically. Good Counsel provides opportunities for the development of leadership, discipline, and responsibility.

Daily prayer and the celebration of the Eucharist are the means of worshipping put forth to promote a faith relationship with Jesus Christ by which students are brought to a knowledge of themselves, the world and the opportunities available to them. The experience of Christian community at Our Lady of Good Counsel School will hopefully be the basis for a life of unity with Christ and service to others.

History

Our Lady of Good Counsel School was opened in 1927 during the pastorate of Father James F. Hendricks.  There were four classrooms and an auditorium with an enrollment of 180 students for eight grade levels. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, agreed to staff the school.  Since that time, Our Lady of Good Counsel School has expanded and flourished with the hard work and commitment of our community.

Between 1950 and 1960, enrollment increased dramatically and the first lay teachers joined the Faculty.  In 1962, while Father Michael F. O'Keefe was Pastor, a new addition to Our Lady of Good Counsel School was completed, furnishing the school with two classes per grade level.  The faculty was increased to ten sisters and six lay teachers.

In June of 1986, the Sisters of St. Joseph withdrew from Our Lady of Good Counsel School because they recognized the need to reduce their corporate commitments due to the fact that the community had become older and fewer.  After the the departure of the Sisters, Monsignor James J. McGovern, current Pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, appointed Sister Michael Vincent Dailey, O.P., as our principal in September of 1985 . Sister Michael led our school for almost 15 years before retiring.

Our new Principal, Mr. Jerome McGowan started with Good Counsel in September of 2000

Today, as a Middle States accredited school, we have an enrollment of approximately 520 students and a attrition rate below the national norm.  Our faculty is a committed and stable presence providing a student - teacher ratio of 22:1.  They provide Our Lady of Good Counsel School with a religious and caring atmosphere as well as academic excellence.

The experiences of achieving in a Christian community and environment at Our Lady of Good Counsel School will help our students to recognize and develop self-discipline, honesty, social responsibility, consideration, self-reliance, and charity.

Our Parochial School is truly an integral part of our parish life.  It provides our children with the best education possible - a Catholic Education which is rooted in and centered on Jesus Christ.  It is both instructional and formational.  We strive to provide the students with a strong foundation and a basic knowledge of their faith in order that they mature in their religion and in their lives.  The goals for the various levels of instruction are based on the developmental needs of the children, the deepening of moral values, and the teachings of the Church.

Through the dedication and partnership of administration, teachers, and parents, we believe that our school has the prime ingredients to help students excel in all facets of wholeness and holiness.  We have accepted the responsibility to provide them with personal, moral, and civic values - the principles that express our obligation to God, to each other, to our community, and to our country.  Building on this foundation, we challenge them to be creative, to think critically, to inquire, to discover, and to have fun as they learn.

The educational excellence and professionalism of the faculty and the innovative and educationally sound curriculum have directly contributed to the academic success of the students of Our Lady of Good Counsel School.  Standardized tests are administered to the students in grades two through seven each spring.  Achievement tests are administered to all of these students, with those in fourth through seventh grade also receiving a cognitive abilities test. The principal, teachers, and specialists review the reported scores.  Each parent receives a copy of these test results.  Consistently, Good Counsel students demonstrated a high level of achievement and ability.

Another indication of the fine preparation which Good Counsel School affords its students is the quality of the schools which they attend after graduation and the academic success which they achieve at these institutions.  Among the secondary schools which the students attend are Holy Cross High School, Bishop Eustace Prep School, St. Joseph's Prep School, Moorestown High School, and Lenape High School.  The vast majority of the students graduate from these schools with honors and have gone on to attend such colleges and universities as Notre Dame, Georgetown, Loyola, Yale, Villanova, St. Joseph's, the Naval Academy , and Johns Hopkins.

Excellence in faculty, curriculum and instruction is the foundation of an educationally superior institution.  Our Lady of Good Counsel School displays this excellence in all areas which makes it a sound educational investment.