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OUISE DESILETS, the head of Fredericksburg's Mariamante Academy, has two pictures on her desk.
One is of Mother Teresa, and the second is Desilet's daughter, Julia, a Roman Catholic nun in Rome.
The photographs are framed reminders of the school's Catholic mission--even though Mariamante is not a parochial Catholic school affiliated with the church's Diocese of Arlington.
Mariamante, which means "They love Mary" in Latin, was started by lay members of the Catholic church in Springfield, Mass., including Desilets, in 1995.
Two years ago, facing declining enrollments in Massachusetts due to what Desilets described as a crisis in the priest-hood, Mariamante started to research new locations.
"Large numbers of people were questioning our Catholic faith and our Catholic identity and were not applying to Mariamante," Desilets said.
After consideration of sites in Virginia, North Carolina and western New York, the school was moved to Fredericksburg. Desilets was drawn to the area's potential for growth and proximity to battlefields and presidential homes.
It's now located at Fredericksburg's First Christian Church on Washington Avenue.
"This is the heart of history," Desilets said.
Mariamante educates students in grades seven to 12, and is attempting to do something slightly different from other area private schools.
It has a classical curriculum, including three mandatory years of Latin and religious classes in Catholicism. Teachers focus on grammar, logic and rhetoric. Students attend Mass once a week at St. Mary Catholic Church. Most classes begin with prayers, and there's a dress code. Teachers use the Ignatian method of education, developed by St. Ignatius Loyola, which recognizes the importance of developing students spiritually and intellectually.
In essence, the school's mission is to "develop students intellectually first, spiritually second, emotionally third," Desilets said.
And, so far, Mariamante is the only Fredericksburg-area high school that offers an education in the Catholic tradition.
Catholic business leaders in Stafford County are planning to open another, St. Michael the Archangel High School, in fall 2006 west of the Stafford County courthouse.
There are several other private schools in the Catholic tradition in Virginia, including the Seton School in Manassas and the St. John Neumann School in Woodbridge. Mariamante Academy is also a member of the National Association of Private Independent and Catholic Schools.
JoAnn Gannon, a mother of four in Stafford, wanted to send her two teenage daughters to a Catholic high school that would weave the faith's teachings into the curriculum.
She was impressed by Desilets, and the school's overall environment, and didn't mind Mariamante isn't a parochial school.
"That is not important to me, because I know enough about my Catholic faith to know by talking to the people in charge of the school as to whether or not they are truly following Catholic doctrine, and that's what's important to me," Gannon said.
Classes are so small at Mariamante, nine to 12 students each, that schedule changes are signaled by a hand bell. Lockers for the school's 30 students are clustered in a single room.
Gannon was drawn to Mariamante precisely for its close-knit atmosphere.
"When I would go to the school last year and talk to the teachers, I didn't even have to ask them questions about my daughter. They would come right out and tell me very detailed information," Gannon said.
On a recent weekday in teacher Kelli Koba's ninth-grade Latin class, it was easy to see how Mariamante teachers quickly get to know their students.
For starters, teachers employ a Socratic method in class, mixing short lectures with lots of questions peppered in between.
Koba, also dean of students and the school's French and medieval history teacher, doled out Latin translation questions according to each student's strengths and weaknesses.
Koba has taught abroad and in America during her family's frequent tours of duty with the military. She was impressed with Mariamante's mission.
She said Latin is a rigorous challenge, requiring students to discipline themselves to learn a multitude of declensions.
"The students will learn this discipline and hopefully apply it to the other subjects," Koba said.
At Mariamante, students learn history, language and literature in a chronological, coordinated fashion. After studying ancient world history in Latin classes in seventh, eighth and ninth grades, they move on to medieval literature and history as they begin to study French, then tackle American history and literature, ending with modern European history and writing. A recent speaker at the school was former Caroline County resident Nancy Wright Beasley, author of "Izzy's Fire: Finding Humanity in the Holocaust." Her book tells the story of five Jewish families who survived the Holocaust, in part because they were hidden by a Catholic family.
Teachers at Mariamante use daily lessons to instill the concepts of respect and charity, Koba said. And above all, Mariamante students are taught to be lifelong critical thinkers, "to be an active participant," in their education and life, Koba said.
Rachel Anzelmo, president of the Mariamante Parents Council and a Catholic, praised the school's classical curriculum, crediting it with expanding her teenage son's ability to make thoughtful decisions.
"You're preparing your kids to make important decisions that will impact their life and not succumb to peer pressure," Anzelmo said. " I think they are teaching them the proper way to evaluate information, and how do you apply it to decision making."
Anzelmo has noticed her son has become more outgoing since enrolling at Mariamante.
"I can see he is more comfortable and more willing to share who he is with everybody at school," Anzelmo said.
The school's average SAT scores are 635 verbal and 620 math, for a combined average score of 1255, far higher than local public schools, although Mariamante has a much smaller pool of students taking the standardized college entrance exam. Most graduating seniors at Mariamante matriculate to four-year colleges and universities, and many of them seek out Catholic higher education.
"It's a safe environment and the kids aren't just a number," Gannon said, who intends to re-enroll her daughters next year. "They're well cared for. I know personally the teachers pray for the students."
KELLY HANNON is a staff reporter with The Free Lance-Star. Contact her at 540/374-5436, or khannon@free lancestar.com. REBECCA SELL is a staff photographer with The Free Lance-Star.
| Mariamante Academy will hold an open house for current and prospective students and their families today from noon to 3 p.m. The school is located at 1501 Washington Ave., in Fredericksburg.
For details, call 540/361-7007. |
