ST. LOUIS (Nov. 5, 2024) - Saint Louis University’s School of Education has partnered with St. Louis Catholic Academy, beginning a first-of-its-kind affiliation for SLU’s School of Education. The SLU School of Education will provide resources to St. Louis Catholic Academy’s middle school, starting with the current school year.

SLU began its relationship with St. Louis Catholic Academy, a K-8 school operating within the Archdiocese of St. Louis , in 2020 through Access Academies. Access Academies propels middle school students who have been historically underserved through high school and on to college and career success with enrichment, counseling, and scholarships.

St. Louis Catholic Academy traces its roots to 1891 and has served students in northeast St. Louis as demographics and parishes have shifted and merged. Today, the school serves 180 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

The relationship between SLU and St. Louis Catholic Academy blossomed quickly, and both schools sought out opportunities to strengthen ties.

During the summer of 2024, St. Louis Catholic Academy moved into a new building on N. Jefferson Ave., just as SLU also received a historic gift for its School of Education. Gary Ritter, Ph.D., SLU’s dean for the School of Education, said the timing couldn’t have been better.

“This really was a confluence of positive events for everyone involved,” Ritter said. “We’ve had a great relationship with St. Louis Catholic Academy and the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and now that relationship is even stronger. All parties knew this was the best thing for the students, the families, the faculty and the administration – of SOE and SLCA. SLU’s mission is to work with and for the community, and this is a fantastic example of being able to live that mission.”

As part of the partnership, SLU participated in the hiring of the middle school staff for the 2024-25 school year. Kwira Vickers was named the school’s first Middle School director, and she led the hiring of four new faculty members to serve middle school students. The new faculty have revamped the learning program throughout the middle school, with the goal of bringing students up to grade level in various subjects, but especially in reading and math. SLU is also dedicated to providing additional teacher and student resources for those who are struggling to get up to grade level.

Throughout the year, SLCA faculty and administrators will receive monthly coaching and professional development from SLU.

“Our role is to support the middle school at St. Louis Catholic Academy,” said Angela Moret, Ph.D., managing director of the Herrmann Center for Innovative Catholic Education at Saint Louis University. “We really want to work with and for the students and with and for the faculty as well. It’s a collaborative effort, one we’re very excited about. We haven’t had a partnership like this before, and there’s going to be a lot of great opportunities for everyone involved.”

Creating a positive, encouraging environment for learning is fundamental to the partnership.

St. Louis Catholic Academy has implemented an in-house competition between grades and classes in order to foster positive relationships between students both inside and outside the classroom.

“The major goal for this year is boosting the overall academic excellence of the school,” Moret said. “We want to make sure that when these students graduate from St. Louis Catholic Academy and head to high school, they’re not just attending high school but thriving. Laying the foundation for success is so important, and that’s really what we’re trying to do, putting every student in a position to be at their best inside and outside the classroom when they move on from St. Louis Catholic Academy.”

Just a few months into the school year, administrators are encouraged by early indicators and Moret is hopeful there will be even more success down the road.

“We’re really excited by how the first weeks of the school year have gone,” Moret said. “But we know it’s not going to be an overnight change and it’s going to take some time and the progress won’t always be linear. As long as the students experience strong academic growth and develop tools for success, though, then that’s going to be a successful school year in our eyes.”