Fayette County's first regional Catholic elementary school is taking shape, and according to construction officials, is about 40 percent complete.

Named Our Lady of Victory by Archbishop John F. Donoghue, the 36,000 square foot facility will serve 250 students in grades kindergarten through eighth. It is located on Kirkley Road in Tyrone, just off Ga. Highway 74.

Principal for the school is Nanci Pearson, former head of St. Anthony's School in Atlanta. She plans to take occupancy of the building in July, and projects an opening date of Sept. 7. Pearson was on site last week to meet with the construction crew.

"This is a learning experience for me as an educator," Pearson said from her chair in the construction trailer. Her focus of the day was wiring the school adequately for the technology programs she plans to incorporate into the curriculum.

Pearson and staff from the Archdiocese of Atlanta have been intimately involved with the school since ground was broken on June 3. Our Lady of Victory is one of three new elementary schools being built in the Atlanta Archdiocese to serve its growing population. Ground will be broken next week for Our Lady of Mercy High School, to be built on Old National Highway and Ga. Highway 138. It is just inside the Fayette County line and will serve 400 students. Opening date is fall of 2000.

The response to the new school has been tremendous, according to Pearson. She has received approximately 230 student applications and is reviewing each one. No acceptances have been made to date.

The criteria for admission includes a completed application, standardized test scores, grades, attendance, and conduct. "Behavior is very important to us," Pearson said.

Prospective students and their families will also be interviewed. "We want a student body that is representative of the 21st century," Pearson said.

So far, the largest pool of applicants has been from the parishes of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Peachtree City and St. George Catholic Church in Newnan.

While Pearson recognized the fact that Fayette County public schools offer a good education to its residents, she says this school offers a choice to families. In addition to providing a structured, traditional curriculum, Pearson said children will learn about their faith.

"They will be given opportunities to live out their faith, and to practice their faith through service projects and prayer," Pearson said. A full athletic program, plus art and music, will round out the school's educational program.

"Success starts in elementary school," she said, noting the academic strengths commonly recognized in Catholic schools. "A high percentage, about 98 to 99 percent of students who graduate from Catholic high schools go on to colleges and universities, Pearson estimated.

Pearson said she wants to hire teachers with a "proven record of competency, who are also degreed and certified." It is not yet known whether or not there will be any members of a religious order on staff. "The lay faculty has taken over as leaders in faith formation," she said.