One hundred years ago, when Our Lady of Grace School opened its doors in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, four Springfield Dominican sisters were on hand. This year, the school has five sisters working, including the principal, Sister Rita Marie Range. Sister Rita, who has led the school for the last 13 years, said the school’s high concentration of religious women stems from her community’s commitment to serve people who are poor or marginalized, and from the environment at the school. “When our sisters come here, they don’t want to leave,” said Sister Rita. The sisters were honored April 23 when the 2400 block of North Ridgeway Avenue, where the school is located, was renamed “Dominican Sisters Way.” The celebration continued with an alumni banquet the following day, which raised money for the school’s scholarship fund. While 80 percent of the students at the school are classified as low-income and its neighborhood is no stranger to crime, the children and their families are committed to the school and the values it teaches, said Sister Rita, adding that she rarely has to deal with disciplinary matters. “My job is easy,” she said. “The kids make my job easy. If you don’t fall in love with these children, there’s something wrong with you.” Sisters teach in grades one and two (Sister Carole Dittrich and Sister Mary Jerome Quinn, respectively) and in grades five and six (Sister Mary Bride Quinn and Sister Myra Flahive). Having them there contributes to the school’s strong Catholic identity, Sister Rita said. “There is a great emphasis on Catholic identity, and it spills over to the lay faculty as well,” she said. “In our classrooms, you’ll find prayer corners and bulletin boards focusing on values in terms of morality and respect.” While many Catholic schools struggle to keep their enrollment steady, Our Lady of Grace saw an increase of about 10 percent to 190 students this school year, and next year hopes to enroll 200 students, Sister Rita said. About 60 percent of the students receive financial aid. Some of them, Sister Rita said, might discover they too have a vocation to the religious life. Over the years, 22 girls from Our Lady of Grace have become Springfield Dominicans. But it will be years before the current students will be a position to discern a religious vocation; generally, the Springfield Dominicans ask young women to take time to grow up, graduate from college and get to know themselves before committing to religious life. “There are a couple of students where the seed has been planted,” Sister Rita said.