CV NEWS FEED // A small Catholic high school in the diocese of Rockville Centre, New York saw 99% of its recent graduates accepted into colleges, and the school’s success is reportedly in part due to the presence of nuns, priests providing a theologically-rich education.
St. Mary’s High School in the Diocese of Rockville Centre is located in Long Island, New York and has a student body of just over 330. Local news outlet the City Journal wrote on January 2 that “St. Mary’s is undertaking a multiyear effort to rededicate itself to classical education and the rich Catholic tradition,” providing a strong example for other diocesan schools to follow amidst declining enrollment.
“St. Mary’s commitment to the Catholic tradition of faith and reason has yielded strong results,” the City Journal reported:
The school’s college-placement rate is exemplary, with the school reporting that 99 percent of recent graduates have been accepted into college. They have entered Brown, Cornell, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, and many other top colleges. For a school with fewer than 100 graduates annually, this is an impressive accomplishment.
The school’s “success is driven in part by its clergy,” the City Journal wrote, noting that the parish priests are “deeply involved” in running the schools. The high school’s president is a theologian and priest, Father Elias Cais.
The high school has support from the local pastor and associate pastor, who is the chaplain of the school. Additionally, “Four nuns from the esteemed Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, teach at the schools and work to prepare students for the sacraments,” the City Journal added.
The sisters and priests “provide an extraordinary religious presence in the schools in an era of aging priests and one-priest parishes,” the City Journal wrote.
Students have to take theology courses in Church history, Scripture, and morality, among others. The Catholic University of America also designed a course called “The Catholic Entrepreneurship and Design Experience” that the St. Mary’s students have the opportunity to take.
Students also partake in a four-year small group discussion centered on a different theme every year. For the 2021-22 school year, “the theme was human dignity,” according to the City Journal.
Despite many Catholic schools facing low enrollment rates, the City Journal concluded:
The experience at St. Mary’s, driven by dedicated priests, a new order of women religious, and lay people inspired by these priests and sisters, suggests that a renewal of Catholic education may yet be possible. Such a renewal won’t be easy. It will have to be guided by faith and reason—both at the core of what St. Mary’s does every day.
