A new Catholic high school launched this fall just inside the Washington beltway.
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school → launch → beltway
St. Jerome Institute opened its doors on Sept. 1 with 21 ninth and 10th graders from 20 families who had the vision and courage to try something new.
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who → open → something
This begs the question: With dozens of well-regarded public and private high schools in the Washington area and Fairfax County specifically, was there really a need for another one?
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This → beg → one
As one of the founding parents, I can answer with a resounding “Yes.”
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I → found → resounding
There is undoubtedly a strong case for parents to choose public school for their children’s education, as my own did back in the 1980s.
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parents → be → 1980s
Over 80% of families send their children to their local public high school because it is free, convenient, and its academics and athletics are often on par with, or in some cases better than, local private high schools that are not free and often much farther away.
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that → send → cases
That’s hard to compete with.
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That → ’ → ?
Yet, over 10% of families do choose to pay to send their kids to private high schools.
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% → choose → schools
Their reasons range from better academics to a safer and more disciplined school culture.
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reasons → range → culture
Many parents acknowledge that public school has become a bit of a zoo, but they either cannot afford private school — my home state of Virginia does not yet offer a universal education savings account option like many other states have adopted — or they simply don’t perceive enough of a difference between their public school and the private schools in their area.
Unfortunately, this perception is largely true; most high schools — public or private — offer similar lecture-style, AP classes for advanced students.
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schools → acknowledge → students
So why would they pay for something they can get for free?
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they → pay → something
And herein lies the reason why I believe the high school “market” is ripe for more innovation and another distinctly different option.
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market → lie → innovation
Declining student performance levels, plummeting test scores, broken school cultures, and mind-numbingly boring classroom experiences have left the door wide open for inspiring alternatives.
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levels → decline → alternatives
To attract pioneering families who see the need for something materially better than the status quo, any new private school cannot merely differ on the margins; it must be radically different from its competition.
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it → attract → competition
Its leaders are not afraid to ask fundamental questions about the purpose of education and what the necessary ingredients are for accomplishing that purpose.
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ingredients → ask → purpose
They realized that the answer largely depends upon one’s view of what it means to be human, and as committed Catholics, they created an approach that fully embraces a Christian anthropology, including the fundamental truth that we are all created in the image and likeness of God, and that our ultimate purpose is to come to know, love, and serve Him.
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purpose → realize → Him
They also embraced the principle that parents are the primary educators; therefore, a school must serve as a support to parents in the formation of their children intellectually, morally, and physically.
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school → embrace → children
After all, it would be ludicrous to think that after spending seven hours a day, five days per week, and nine months a year with adults and peers at school, our children would not be at least partially formed by the example they set.
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they → think → example
These principles enabled a bold reimagining of Catholic high school education.
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principles → enable → education
First, every class is taught with the seminar method.
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class → teach → method
Teachers lead discussions with 15-20 students sitting and facing one another.
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students → lead → one
While leading a great seminar is difficult for any teacher, it quickly becomes clear that it is worth the investment, given how much more engaging and beneficial the experience is for students.
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experience → lead → students
Well-run seminars require participation, necessitating that students become actively engaged as they learn to listen, think, and speak well.
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they → run → participation
Second, the school culture is defined by the faculty community, whose members recognize that the school does not exist for their sake but for the young men and women entrusted to their care.
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school → define → care
Every couple of weeks, students have an early release day so teachers can engage in seminars about the great works of literature, theology, philosophy, math, and science.
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teachers → have → literature
The school hires teachers who demonstrate virtues such as humility and charity and who desire to constantly learn and grow in their faith lives.
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who → hire → lives
Its leaders create an environment that reinforces this life of the mind and spirit so teachers may, in turn, share it with their students.
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teachers → create → students
Third, the curriculum embraces the liberal arts and the rich Catholic intellectual tradition.
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curriculum → embrace → arts
Students grapple with Plato and Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas, and the great literary works of Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, and Dostoevsky.
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Students → grapple → Homer
They gain an in-depth knowledge of Western civilization from Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem through England and the founding of our own country.
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They → gain → country
Math involves lots of problem-solving, but the ultimate goal is for students to see the intrinsic beauty of math.
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students → involve → math
Students also appreciate the natural world and develop an understanding of the progression of science from ancient through modern times.
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Students → appreciate → times
Instead of learning biology, chemistry, and physics independently, St. Jerome Institute integrates them: Students take all three subjects each year and continue to go deeper as they proceed through each grade level.
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they → learn → level
The entire curriculum is integrated, with philosophical and theological questioning taking place in every class, so students see the world as an integrated whole instead of a disconnected collection of parts.
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students → integrate → parts
The school is small by design, with enrollment peaking at around 150 students across all four grades.
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enrollment → peak → grades
A smaller student body leads to a more intimate culture where friendships become easier to form and toxic behavior is easier to avoid.
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behavior → lead → culture
It targets parents who value an authentically Christian culture that prioritizes prayer and living virtuously.
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that → target → prayer
Championship athletic teams may be a challenge due to the small size, but this makes it easier to avoid the trap of sports being over-prioritized.
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sports → make → trap
St. Jerome Institute will still field teams, including boys’ soccer and girls’ volleyball this fall, and students will benefit from athletic competition.
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students → field → competition
Kids who aspire to play high-level college sports can still play club and travel sports on the side, which they would need to do anyway to get recruited.
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they → aspire → which
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
