The classroom of St. Gabriel’s PACE teacher Nicole Walton is filled with smiles and laughter as students absorb lessons geared toward the way they learn best. (Lisa M. Geraci)GREENSBORO — Families are packing up their lives and moving across the country to enroll their special needs children in Our Lady of Grace School’s St. Gabriel Options Program called PACE – the only Catholic program of its kind on the elementary level in the Triad.
“They see what your kid CAN do, and they capitalize on that,” said Anna Friemel, parent of Walker, a student enrolled in the program. “They can do things. It’s just a little different.”
PACE stands for Providing an Appropriate Catholic Education, and for the Friemel and Campbell families, the difficult challenge of finding a Catholic education for their children led them to Greensboro – a place they likely would have never known existed if not for St. Gabriel’s PACE.
Now, among the nine students in special education teacher Nicole Wilton’s multi-sensory classroom for children K-3, Walker Friemel and Austin Campbell learn, socialize and practice their faith, all in the same building as their siblings.
The children move about freely. Sometimes they take a break to spin in circles, give hugs or pretend they are dinosaurs, but in general they work at their skill level. Some sit on bean bags happily fidgeting while reading 4th-grade science magazines, while the others work on gluing colorful alphabet puzzles together. The classroom incorporates flexible seating, movement breaks, and sensory supports based on individual student needs.
“We meet them where they are and go from there,” Wilton said.
Austin and Walker returned from classes they attend with their grade-level peers. Before sprinting to the soft couches, they made a beeline for the visitors in the room – their moms.
Mothers Katy Campbell and Anna Friemel hugged them and smiled – still overjoyed by their progress.
Walker spied Father Casey Coleman in the corner and yelled, “Get to Mass, Father Coleman!”
Everyone laughed – a laugh that never would have happened two years before.
Chris and Anna Friemel moved 800 miles from their home in Central Arkansas to give Walker better educational opportunities.
The Arkansas travelers
Chris and Anna Friemel are 800 miles from their hometown in Central Arkansas with no regrets.
Walker, their 7-year-old son with autism, attended Catholic school in Arkansas, but the lack of special programs meant he was unable to thrive.
“How could I go to church on Sunday and teach our neurotypical daughter that we are to love everyone and see them for what they can do, and then turn around and tell her that there is no place for Walker?” Anna Friemel cried at the memory. “We really just needed a miracle, somebody to serve both of our children at the same school, and to see them for what they can do.”
Chris Friemel, who was in Greensboro for business, met Father Casey Coleman at Our Lady of Grace Church. He confided in the pastor that they were pouring resources into Walker’s education to no avail.
Father Coleman shared the St. Gabriel’s PACE program’s successes, and Chris carried that news home to his wife. They followed Father Coleman’s advice and started praying. Months later,
Chris Friemel was offered a transfer to Greensboro.
Both children started school in August of 2025 and are thriving.
“This is a divine program. Just the fact that our children are seen the same. There is just so much support,” Anna Friemel said.
The students are part of the larger school and faith community.
From Washington to Greensboro
Katy Campbell homeschooled her son, Austin, who has autism, when they lived in Washington state but wasn’t making progress. When she tried to enroll him in her local parish school, he was rejected.
“They’d tell everyone every kid deserved a Catholic school education,” Katy said. “To show up and be made to feel like it was ‘every child except yours’ – that was a major emotional gut punch.”
One day, Katy’s sister randomly called and said she was transferring to Greensboro.
“I had no idea where Greensboro was, but I started researching, and then I saw this Catholic school program for autistic children,” she said.
Excitedly, she left her four children with her husband and drove 2,325 miles to Greensboro.
“It only took me four days, but I was driving like 10 hours a day,” she laughed. “I walked in the school, and they gave me a tour. I was instantly impressed.”
It was all she needed. They moved, fueled by their faith in God and love for their children.
Two years later, they are part of a loving faith community at Our Lady of Grace and a school where all their children can thrive.
“The dream is for all Catholic schools to have something like this, but until we get there, sensitivity, deep listening and compassion go a long way,” she said.
What every student deserves
According to the CDC, 1 out of 36 children nationally is diagnosed with autism. Out of those, only 1%-2% attend private schools, the majority attending public schools, due to the national shortage of specialized programs.
Principal Catherine Rusch has prioritized the growth of St. Gabriel’s, OLG’s continuum of support for students with diverse learning needs. Through St. Gabriel’s PACE and St. Gabriel’s Quest, approximately 40 students are now served across the school.
“This is the way God wants us to live,” Rusch said. “The dignity of the human being isn’t about picking the human beings you want to include. It is about recognizing the dignity of every person, from conception to natural death, no matter how God made them.”
— Lisa M. Geraci
CHARLOTTE — A joyful sense of school spirit filled the campus at Charlotte Catholic High School Tuesday as the school held a ribbon-cutting for its newly turfed football field and a new Student Life Center.
Bishop Michael Martin joined school officials, diocesan staff, students, parents and benefactors for the blessings and ceremony, which included prayer, Scripture readings and reflections.
Michael Seeley, the new president of Charlotte Catholic, remarked on what the improvements mean for the school’s tight-knit community.
“Today is about much more than a remodeled building and new turf,” Seeley said. “Today is about the people of our Charlotte Catholic community. It’s about the people who had a vision for what Charlotte Catholic could and can become…the people who believed in that vision enough to invest in it, and about the young people who will make memories here for years to come.”
Seeley started his position while the premium turf was being placed and work on the student life center, located in the former library space, was going on.
“When I arrived at Charlotte Catholic this summer, one of the things that struck me immediately was the strength of this community,” Seeley said. “There is a deep affection and passion for this school, a pride in its history, a commitment to its Catholic identity and a genuine belief that what happens here matters.”
He noted that the field, which will serve sports ranging from football to lacrosse and soccer, offers something for every student: “A freshman who’s not sure she belongs finds a team. A kid who has never been pushed that hard finds out what he is capable of…a group of teenagers learns that they are responsible to somebody other than themselves.”
The Student Life Center, which offers expansive space for collaboration as well as quiet spots for individual study, will be “a place for students to gather…to connect …to serve … to build community.”
Bishop Martin talked about the Aug. 21 football game he attended and the fan excitement he saw. He noted that he met a group of students who were enjoying the Friday night game and then had to get up the next morning to take SATs in preparation for college. That kind of commitment, he said, illustrates the life Catholic students should try to live.
“Don’t’ be afraid of hard things and don’t think are the last hard things you’re going to have to do,” he said. “Throughout our lives, Jesus invites us to the cross … Learn that and embrace it the way Jesus did. Say ‘I’m willing to do what’s hard for the sake of a greater glory.’”
After the ribbon-cuttings, a reception was held in the Student Life Center and guests were invited to the new student commons area, which gives students a place to rest and gather during breaks between classes.
Senior Liana Grasso, who is on the dance team and serves as student body vice president, said the improvements have brought a real sense of excitement to the school.
“I honestly can say this is bringing us in the right direction – there’s a fun-filled school spirit vibe,” she said. “You could really tell the excitement the students had when they were around the new football field on Friday night.”
The improvements are being funded by “Grounded in Tradition: Focused on the Future,” an $8.5 million capital campaign launched in February for the multi-phased project. Its next phases will include transforming a small office building adjacent to the campus into the Computer, Technology and Engineering Innovation Center, which will support classes in engineering, robotics and other technologies.
The final phase of the project is a new field house with flexible space for sports performance, recovery and athletics training as well as other classes and activities.
The total cost of the improvements is expected to be $10.5 million, including a $2 million contribution from the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools Capital Fee. Choate Construction is the contractor of the project and Little and Associates are the architects.
— Christina Lee Knauss. Photos by Troy C. Hull
