Fred Gore began teaching in 1967 with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board. As a young teacher, he was drawn to working with students the Board had deemed “unteachable.” These students were labeled juvenile delinquents and placed in sector schools to be “taught.” Fred quickly recognized that these children were not lazy or incapable—they were struggling with learning disabilities. His patient and effective teaching earned him the nickname “The Student Whisperer.” The Catholic School Board soon sent him from school to school to create supportive learning environments for these students.
By 1979, however, Fred realized that the Board’s vision for helping children with learning disabilities was very different from his own. In 1980, he made a bold decision: he cashed in his pension and, with his wife Bonnie, opened St. Jude’s School.
At first, St. Jude’s was small—by September 1980 there was one full-time student, and by Christmas there were six. In those early years, Fred filled many roles: principal, director, teacher, janitor, bus driver, and even lunch supervisor. Fred and Bonnie, while raising their own young family, committed everything to building the school they believed the community needed.
St. Jude’s, located on Philip Street in Waterloo, quickly became known throughout the region for its exceptional work with bright and gifted students who also faced learning disabilities. Word spread during the 1980s that St. Jude’s was a place where great teaching, small class sizes, and motivated students were the norm.
As the 1990s began, more and more parents sought to enroll their children—not because they had learning difficulties, but because they weren’t being challenged in the public system. For years, Fred turned these families away, believing St. Jude’s should remain focused on students who truly needed it. But with consistent encouragement from his accountant to “adapt to the market,” Fred eventually agreed. St. Jude’s began accepting students without learning disabilities, and enrollment grew rapidly—from 30 students in 1993 to 100 in 1995, with a waitlist of 75.
Growth brought challenges. Class sizes increased from 6 to 12, and while this was still small compared to public schools, Fred realized that students with learning disabilities were no longer receiving the same level of support. Effectively, St. Jude’s had become two schools in one, and Fred began searching for a new solution.
After years of exploring possible sites, Fred found a property in Kitchener’s Huron Business Park. The land featured the largest and healthiest elm tree in Ontario, and because it was surrounded by protected environmental lands, nothing could ever be built beside or behind it. The location was ideal—accessible by city transit and across from one of the largest nature parks in Waterloo Region.
In 2000, construction was completed on a new building at 888 Trillium Drive, Kitchener, and Scholars’ Hall was born. Seventy-five students from St. Jude’s Philip Street location, along with 25 from the waitlist, began classes there in September. The remaining students moved to a new site at Weber and University in Waterloo, where St. Jude’s returned to its original mission of supporting bright students with learning disabilities.
Enrollment at Scholars’ Hall grew steadily until the 2008 recession, which forced the school to make difficult adjustments. In hindsight, those challenges strengthened the school, shaping it into the successful institution it is today.
In 2009, as the recession eased, St. Jude’s moved into the Scholars’ Hall building. Enrollment at Scholars’ rebounded quickly, reaching and then surpassing pre-recession numbers by 2013. St. Jude’s, as the only full-time day school for students with learning disabilities within 100 kilometers, remained fully registered throughout.
By 2020, Scholars’ Hall and St. Jude’s had established a strong reputation for compassionate teaching, high student work ethic, preparation for post-secondary success, and proven academic strategies for students with diverse learning needs. Since 2018, nearly every class has been fully registered, with waitlists forming each year.
By May 2021, both schools were fully registered for the following year well before the current year had ended. Waitlists across all grades have become an ongoing reality at SJSH. In September 2024, SJSH opened a 10-classroom addition and continues to operate with many full classes and a waitlist for many grades.
As of 2025, Scholars’ Hall and St. Jude’s have won the Platinum or Diamond awards for the best private school in Waterloo Region every year for the past 5 years. We continue to operate as a family business with Fred’s daughter, Mrs. Cheryl McKee, in the roles of Principal and Director of Education.