Page 18: Bucking the Trend

Bucking the Trend: Brother Rice and Mt. Carmel High Schools

By Dr. Kevin Schmiesing and Anthony Pienta

A recent trend in Catholic education is that small, newer, private Catholic schools are quite successful at establishing and maintaining Catholic identity. Although this movement is worth highlighting, it is important to remember that it is not the only model for successful Catholic education.

A school’s increased size does not always necessitate sacrificing sound Catholic education or an edifying Catholic culture. Although larger established schools are faced with the challenge of balancing continuity and change while not resting on past successes, many persevere in their academic excellence and vibrant Catholic orthodoxy. In 2006 the Catholic High School Honor Roll’s annual Top 50 list included two such institutions. These two not only have an enrollment well above the Honor Roll average of 530 students, but are facing their unique challenges like champions.

Brother Rice High School in south Chicago is on its face the kind of institution that has floundered in the last decade. The 1,200-student all-boys school serves a diverse student body in an old big-city neighborhood, but the Christian Brothers school nonetheless has renewed its commitment to its core values and succeeded where others have failed. Brother Patrick Martin, head of the honors program, says that the school has resisted the temptation to cut back on formal theological instruction to increase enrollment, noting, “it is important to the parents whose children we educate.” He articulates the purpose of the school as supporting “the primary faith community, the parish, by providing a sound understanding of what it means to be Catholic.”

Brother Patrick observes worriedly that several parish elementary schools in the area have closed. But he remains upbeat because, against the odds, Brother Rice has increased its enrollment in recent years. Brother Patrick attributes some of the enrollment increase to the publicity and reputation generated by the school’s placement for three straight years on the Catholic High School Honor Roll. In fact, after the school’s Honor Roll placement in 2004, he noticed a one-hundred student increase.