St. Anthony's is a sponsoring parish of the St JPII Catholic Schools in Fargo/West Fargo. St. JPII Catholic Schools is made up of five Catholic Schools: Holy Spirit Elementary School, Nativity Elementary School, Trinity Elementary School, Sacred Heart Middle School, and Shanley High School.
History The first Catholic School in Fargo opened on July 26, 1882 under the auspices of the Presentation Sisters from Ireland. The sisters opened a high school, Sacred Heart Academy, on September 8, 1897. Sacred Heart Academy became Shanley High School with the 1950-51 school year. Parish elementary schools staffed largely by the Presentation Sisters operated at St. Mary's Cathedral, St. Anthony's Parish, Holy Spirit Parish, and Nativity Parsh with K-8 configurations. In 1987 the "Fargo Catholic Schools Network" was established as a collaborative system of schools. Later, a middle school configuration (grades 6-8) was adopted which eventually became Sacred Heart Middle School. Holy Spirit School and Nativity School continued as elementary schools. Trinity Elementary School opened in the 2015-16 school year in West Fargo.
We became "Blessed John Paul II Catholic Schools" from the previous "Fargo Catholic Schools Network" name shortly after the Pope John Paul II's beatification on Divine Mercy Sunday (May 1, 2011). Then Bishop Samuel Aquila wrote "Knowing Bl. John Paul II's love for youth and Catholic education, we place our Catholic schools, youth, faculty, and administration under his patronage and intercession" (Pastoral Letter, May 3, 2011). We became "St. John Paul II Catholic Schools" shortly after Pope John Paul II's canonization (April 27, 2014).