It may not be by leaps and bounds, but Sacred Heart School in Adams is growing.

The rural Catholic school with 83 students will add a kindergarten and daycare service to its first- through eighth-grade curriculum this fall.

“It’s something that we’ve wanted to do for quite a while,” said Principal Sean Kennedy. “We’re helping fill a need for the entire community.”

According to Kennedy, the previous parish priest, Father James Steffes brought up the suggestion while meeting with school officials last year. The Sacred Heart Staff decided to move forward with a plan to renovate the faith formation building, right next to the school, into a daycare and kindergarten center, which means a lot of changes to the school, as classrooms and areas like the music department and special education will be shifted around.

“It just seemed like the time was right to move in that direction,” said Jennifer Smith, seventh-grade teacher at Sacred Heart. “Different people in the community have been asking us to provide this.”

Sacred Heart staff have received a lot of community support, as several local construction firms have volunteered their efforts to help renovate the place.

Construction began last week, meaning classrooms have already shifted around some. School officials hopes construction will wrap up by the time school starts in the fall.

“We ask for help and people always seem to come forward,” Kennedy said. “It’s great that way.”

With a new addition comes new job opportunities. Sacred Heart is currently looking for a daycare director to oversee the daycare, which Sacred Heart staff hope to fill at a capacity of 14. Sacred Heart will also hire a kindergarten teacher to teach about the same number of students.

Until then, Sacred Heart staff will have time to reflect on the changes they’ve made and the changes that are coming.

“We have just unbelievable support in this community,” Kennedy said. “We just feel like this is the right time for us and we’ve got a higher power leading the way for us.”