A Level Above: Academic Excellence
Goldie Rapp
In 1890, the Benedictine Monks of St. Bede Abbey set out on a mission to establish an institution that would prepare students for further education and their future role in the world and church.
Even 133 years later, while education has undergone drastic changes our founding monks could have never imagined, St. Bede’s mission has never lost sight of its emphasis to prepare students for college and beyond.
With its rigorous academic programming, individualized advising and mentoring, hands-on learning experiences and professional preparation, St. Bede continues to challenge students and meet their needs in preparing them for the next level. Today, 100% of seniors are admitted to top colleges and universities.
At an enrollment of 275 students, St. Bede is able to offer a three-tiered academic program that tailors to the needs of each student to ensure they are achieving at their greatest potential. Within this programing, St. Bede offers an abundance of honor and AP courses through a partnership with the local community college that can set students ahead in their general studies when they land at college.
Math Teacher Colleen Cox has had more than one of her former students reach out to her over the years to tell her how easy their first college math course was thanks to her honor courses.
“They talk about how they could learn things faster than everybody else in the class, because we had them so well-prepared,” she says.
St. Bede also offers more than 30 special interest clubs that allow students to further explore their passions, develop new skills or introduce new ideas as they gain knowledge and leadership qualities while building character.
In addition, every student who graduates from St. Bede is required to clock 100 community service hours through its Christian Service Program. Service learning is a teaching strategy that integrates community service with instruction and reflection to enrich learning experiences, teach civic responsibility and strengthen communities. Service learning opens student eyes to the concerns, needs and hopes of their communities.
Chemistry Teacher Bill Olsen, while one of the newest educators on staff, came to the Academy this year as a veteran Chemistry teacher with years of lessons under his belt. What has stood out to him in his first year of teaching at St. Bede is the character of the students. From his first week on campus, he’s been impressed with their dedication, drive to want to learn and their respect for fellow students and teachers. He stresses that when students want to be at school and learn the material – it makes all the difference.
“They are doing well and they are getting the best out of my classes, especially my honor students,” he says. “The students here are just excellent kids, excellent students.”
Globally-diverse population
Aside from its academics and array of courses offered at the Academy, a unique aspect to the school culture is its variety of international and domestic boarding students who have come to the United States for an American education. St. Bede is home to 39 students from eight countries, including China, Vietnam, Korea, Ukraine, Turkey, Japan, Mexico and the U.S.
Not only are these students being immersed in an American education at St. Bede, but they expose day students to different cultures and backgrounds allowing them to gain a greater understanding of diversities before leaving the Illinois Valley.
Student success starts with the educator
At St. Bede, the administration prioritizes finding highly-qualified teachers who bring passion and enthusiasm to the classroom and dedicate time getting to know students outside of school.
You’ll find many of the teachers cheering their students on along the sidelines of athletic competitions, chairing a student club or taking part in extracurricular events. Each teacher is driven to cultivate a positive school culture and make themselves available for their students.
They are also encouraged to share their knowledge about the hobbies or interests they’re enthusiastic about. For example, Science Teacher Dan Fitzpatrick has a love for the outdoors and you’ll find him leading his classes around campus turning the outdoors into a learning stage. Whether he’s showing students how to tap trees for maple syrup, collecting acorns to make pancakes or forging for weeds and greenery – Students leave Fitzpatrick’s class having gained a whole new appreciation for the outdoor life around them.
The teachers at St. Bede also play a key role in the school improvement plan, which examines shortcomings and sets strategic plans in place in the areas where the Academy can grow.
Most recently, the rebranding of Academic Achievement, which is now known as the Bruin Learning Center, was an idea that came out of these planning sessions. The Bruin Learning Center is a multi-tiered system of support open to any student in need of extra educational support, whether it be organization or one-on-one tutoring in a certain subject.
The Bruin Learning Center is a way to identify students in need of extra help and provide those extra resources to succeed.
St. Bede is also at the forefront in identifying a need for behavioral support among students. Megan Theisinger ’09 was hired at the start of the 2023-24 academic year as St. Bede’s first-ever social worker. Her role is to be an advocate for all students, but especially those with social-emotional needs impacting learning – a trend most schools across the country have experienced during this post-pandemic timeframe.
“Really, we’re trying to make sure we’re educating the whole person. We are really hitting the spiritual-side of things, but also the academic-side and trying to make sure our students are learning the most they can and be as successful as they can,” says St. Bede Principal Nick McLaughlin.
Truly a place where you belong
Inherent to any student’s success is their feeling, from the beginning, that they belong on campus. You’ll find McLaughlin telling prospective parents at the annual Open House that St. Bede is large enough to offer a variety of different activities and academic courses, but small enough that every teacher and administrator is going to know a student by their name.
“We’re going to sit down and talk to them, get to know them, greet them at athletic events. The one thing we really push is being able to know and identify students in our community. When you’re in a larger institution, students have a greater potential of slipping through the cracks and we don’t let that happen at St. Bede,” he said.
Before landing her first teaching gig at St. Bede, English Teacher Aurora Staggs student-taught at a high school where the enrollment was in the thousands and she can attest to how easy it is for high school students to fall behind in larger class-size settings that prevent teachers from truly getting to know students.
At St. Bede, where the average class size is less than 20 students – it’s harder for students to hide. It allows for several one-on-one opportunities with the teachers and fosters a place where students truly feel they are seen and heard. Staggs describes St. Bede as being “a very community-based school.”
“It’s really a place where students can feel like they belong, which is really important for teenagers,” she says.
Religion Teacher Eric Davy adds that once students feel that safety and comfort, they can just rest and focus on the learning.
“It helps take the sting out of learning,” he says.
Academy renovations are a key in success
Since 2014, St. Bede Academy has been focused on improving its educational facilities to meet the needs of student learning. It’s been a 10-year, $14 million Capital Campaign – entirely funded by alumni and friends of St. Bede – that is set to be finished Summer 2024.
It started with the addition of the Perino Science Center and has progressed to completely renovating the first and second floors of the academy building to fit the needs of a 21st Century learning space, yet maintain the character and integrity of the historic structure.
“Education changes all the time. If you’re doing the same thing you were doing 10 or 15 years ago, students are not growing, they are not being challenged,” said McLaughlin. “The same thing goes for our educational facilities.”
Every teacher has technology and HVAC upgrades within their classroom, every space is tailored to the subject being taught there and every room has flexible furnishing to facilitate engagement and collaboration among students.
Last year, Davy was teaching in an antiquated classroom on the third floor of the academy while the renovations on the second floor were taking place. He moved into a newly-renovated classroom at the start of the spring semester in 2023.
“I feel like I went from a Ford Pinto to a Cadillac Escalade. This room is beautiful. I love the view. I love the fresh drywall. I think students are even more proud to be here … If the students sense what’s going on here – people putting their money back into this place and saying it’s going to be here for another 100 years – that’s important,” he says.
Cox laughs when she tells about no longer needing to arrive early at school to open the windows of a 90-degree room due to antiquated heating efficiencies. She’s now able to wear long-sleeve shirts to school during the winter and the students are no longer distracted by the temperature of her room.
Faith at the forefront
As education and facilities continue to evolve, the core educational standards and Benedictine teachings will always remain intertwined in the lessons. Faith is at the forefront of learning at St. Bede, whether it’s through daily prayer, mass and prayer services led by the school chaplain – these opportunities will continue to reinforce the way of accepting all through Christ.
These teachings not only set examples, but empower students to see a larger picture of the world around them. A great example of that being Davy, who preaches the bible verse: 1 Timothy 4:12, "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."
In this he urges students that St. Bede is more than just an education, it’s a mission. He tells students that they have authority to be a leader or missionary disciple just like anybody else who has experienced St. Bede.
“You guys are here at St. Bede, you’re St. Bede Bruins, and you’re a part of this mission and you will carry on the mission when you leave that lane for the last time,” he urges his students.
