Bill McClellan | Post-Dispatch
Several years ago, Greer Rodgers took her twins. Miles and Maxwell, both then in fifth grade, to the dentist. One of the employees, a dental hygienist, asked if Greer had heard of Loyola Academy. No, said Greer. You should look into it, said the hygienist.
The twins were at St. Louis Language Immersion School, a charter school that offered instruction in Spanish, French and Chinese. Both boys were in the Chinese program. They were doing well, and they liked the school. Greer was happy with it, too, but she felt things were beginning to slip. A favorite teacher had been out for a while and the kids were getting a steady diet of substitutes. A long-awaited class trip had fallen through.
She called Loyola and arranged a visit.
It was eye-opening. This was a middle school on another level. Computers, science laboratories, attentive students. By the way, the students were male, almost all Black and almost all from low-income families. Almost all were at Loyola on scholarships.
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Most important to Greer, the school had a remarkable success rate. Nearly all its graduates went to private, college preparatory high schools. Nearly all got scholarships to the high schools. Nearly all went on to college.
Maxwell and Miles applied. They were accepted and given scholarships. They thrived. They were offered scholarships to Christian Brothers College High School. They have done well there. They are about to enter their senior year and are getting ready to apply to colleges. Miles is hoping to attend Howard University. Maxwell is leaning toward North Carolina A&T. Both schools are historically black colleges.
I met Greer and her two sons recently. The twins are impressive young men — courteous and self-confident. The family lives in the Walnut Park neighborhood on the city’s north side. Lots of young people in that neighborhood get lost.
But Loyola Academy of St. Louis is not in the business of saving lost kids. Its mission is to take kids who are not lost and would have done all right anyway, and give them a chance to reach their full potential.
That’s a wonderful mission, but there is something bittersweet about Loyola’s success story. It can’t be duplicated in the public arena.
It’s hard to remember now, but there was once a sense of hope for public schools, a sense that positive change might be coming. In 2001, two years after Loyola opened its doors, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind legislation. President George W. Bush and Sen. Ted Kennedy were its champions. Political leaders were talking about improving public schools.
That moment passed.
The public school systems that were floundering then are floundering today. Like here in St. Louis. Does anybody believe that Millicent Borishade, the buddy-hire of the previous disgraced superintendent, is the right person to lead a turnaround?
I visited Loyola Academy of St. Louis and spoke with Eric Clark, the president, and Ellen Cooper, the director of development. Clark spent 16 years at St. Louis University High School, which is, like Loyola, a Jesuit institution.
He talked about the No Child Left Behind movement. The societal problems were just too great to achieve success on a large scale, he said.
“We’re a ma and pa operation,” he said. Loyola Academy has about 80 students.
While public school systems have to educate whomever shows up, Loyola is selective. And not only do the prospective students have to take exams and ace the interviews, but the families have to pass muster.
“We need kids who have a support system,” said Cooper.
For instance, the school has a 95 percent attendance rate. Transportation is not provided. So what happens if a single mother loses her car? There can be work-arounds, said Cooper. The families know one another and help one another out. But ultimately, the responsibility lies with the student and his family.
Religion is an important component. The assistant principal is a Jesuit. Each day starts with a prayer. There is a midday prayer and an afternoon prayer. Also, a monthly Mass. The boys dress up for it. No sneakers. Button-down shirts.
Hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The academic part of the day stops at 3:30 and is followed by enrichment time, which is generally led by volunteers. How to handle personal finances, how to tie a tie, how to interview. What does a well-educated young man need to know?
Friday is an abbreviated day — 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
A licensed clinical social workers is on staff. All students receive counseling.
Two years ago, the school expanded from its original middle school grades — 6th, 7th and 8th — to include 4th and 5th grades.
“We felt the kids were coming in too far below grade level. There is a point where you learn to read and then you read to learn,” said Cooper.
What about fights? A bunch of young boys. Surely, there must be fights. I thought about the concerns in the public schools that with closures necessary and schools merging, fights will be inevitable.
No, said Cooper. She said that when the students write essays about Loyola, almost everybody mentions how safe they feel.
Of course, it’s expensive. Tuition would be about $25,000 without scholarships. Most families pay about $1,500. Paying something is important. It shows commitment.
To cover costs, the school must raise about $3.4 million a year. A little more than half of that is from private donations. Grants are the next largest source of funds. The state lunch program provides about 2 percent of the school’s funding.
The hardest part of the job, Cooper said, is turning down a student who is smart and committed but has no support system. The sad reality of leaving a child behind.
The best part of the job is seeing students succeed. The school follows its students through high school and college.
“Loyola is a forever program,” said Greer Rodgers.
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