"Payback Time!"

Note: I was asked to speak in remembrance of Mr. Jim Oates at his funeral on January 11, 2019. These were my remarks. 

The most difficult issue facing Catholic schools today is one of affordability.

We cannot set our tuitions too high, pricing our schools such that only the economically privileged can afford us—that’s contrary to our mission. On the other hand, we can’t set it too low if we want good teachers to work with us—we must pay them enough to support THEIR families. 

For over 100 years, our Catholic schools were blessed to be run by smart, grace-filled women and men religious, who received very little in terms of compensation, living austere lives in community with each other. What an amazing gift they were for our Church for all of us! 

But times have changed, and with just a few exceptions, the sisters and brothers are no longer with us, so to carry on their work, Catholic schools must now hire committed laymen and women, causing our tuition costs to sky-rocket. Frankly, there's an increasing gap between what we must charge and what a number of Catholic families can afford. 

In our school’s second year, I was approached by a older Catholic man, Jim McAleer, who proposed an interesting way of bridging the gap. His idea was to invite Catholics of his generation-- those who been taught by the sisters and brothers of yesteryear--to become “guardian angels” for younger Catholic families of today, assisting them with tuition.  "Guardian Angels" would either make monthly tuition payments credited directly to a student's account, or make donations which would be placed in a designated school account, and if Catholic families needed some extra help to attend our school, they'd first apply for financial aid from our school. We'd do what we can to help them, and if they needed more, they would approach their pastor, who could instruct me to withdraw monies from the guardian angel account to help them.   

I spoke to the pastors, who thought it was a fantastic idea, as it gave them a source to help their families. And it would be clear to these families that this was an outreach of the Church and a gift from its older families. 

So in our school's second year, we launched the "Guardian Angel" appeal. Right away,  we received a very generous gift from a guy named Jim Oates. I didn’t know who he was. Normally we send thank you cards, but this gift was such that I wanted to thank him personally.  So I did. 

Mr. Oates was pleased to get my call. But those of you who know him will not be surprised to learn that within a minute, he started needling me with a series of practical questions about how we ran the program. “How do you determine if a family truly has need, vs. a family that’s just trying to get a good deal?” “Well, “ I said, "we ask that families make financial disclosure statements and send that off to a third party, who assesses their need.” “But how do you confirm what the families say?” "They must verify their numbers with copies of their recent tax forms," I said. Mr. Oates thought for a moment:  "That’s GOOOOOD,"  he said.  “That’s something I’m going to continue to support. “ 

The second year, he sent us even a bigger check for GA, and this time, I decided to visit him. “May I ask,” I said, “why you’re so generous to this outreach?” I’ll never forget what he said:  

“Listen,” he said, with fire in his eyes. “ I went to  St. Joseph School in downtown Mobile for $3/month. When I graduated, I went to McGill Institute for $100 a year. These two schools changed my life. It’s PAYBACK TIME!”  

This last summer, Mr. Oates called me up and told me to come visit him. He was more somber than usual, as if he had urgent business. “Catholic Schools are very important to me. I want to leave a substantial portion of my estate to St. Michael, but only if you promise me that it will only be used for future Catholic families who need help to attend your school. You can’t use it to build athletic fields or anything else. You can't let the archdiocese have it. Families who need financial help only. Promise?  “Mr. Oates,” I said, choking up a bit. “I promise.” 

Jim died on December 13, 2019. 

I've met some very generous people in my 31 years as a Catholic high school principal. But I have never met someone as passionate or as generous as Mr. Oates when it comes to assisting families with financial aid. What a gift! What a legacy!  

Mr. Oates, on behalf of the generations of students and families who will receive the "Jim and Delores Oates Scholarship" to attend St. Michael Catholic High in the future, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 

Unto Us a Child is Born!

Merry Christmas, and may God bless us, everyone!

Open House, 2019!

These are my remarks at our open house at St. Michael, November 7, 2019

Good evening, and welcome! 

We hope that you’ll enjoy this evening—You're going to  meet our students, sit in some of our classes to watch our teachers in action, talk with our coaches and other teachers, listen to our band—and walk away with a pretty clear window on who we are and how we do things. 

But allow me for just a moment to speak not so much on the "how" and instead talk about the “why."  Why are we here? Why do I work here? Why does St. Michael exist? 

Our mission statement says it simply: We’re trying to build “scholars, leaders and disciples of Jesus Christ.”

The thing is, we live in a culture that is very pessimistic about teenagers. It tells them over and over that they’re not capable of handling disappointment (so we give everyone a trophy), or that they’re not capable of real scholarship (so we inflate their grades), or that living morally is impossible (so we teach them “safe sex” instead). And the truly harmful effect of this messaging is that teenagers begin to believe all these things about themselves. 

But that’s not our view!  We believe teenagers are children of God, temples of the Holy Spirit, and infused with the grace of Christ, "who strengthens us, and through whom we can do all things." (Philippians 4:13). They—and we—are called to holiness! They—and we—are called to be saints! 

We want students to "go for it," to extend themselves beyond their comfort zones, to delve deeper into their studies, to try out for teams (even if they're not selected), to join new clubs, to serve others in new ways, and to strive for excellence. In so doing, we believe students will grow into young men and women who are happy, confident in their futures, and ready to make a difference in this world. 

See, the thing is, I believe teens are hungry, deep down, to be challenged. They are utterly bored and uninspired by an accommodating, "lowest common denominator" approach to life. They want their lives to matter; they want to be challenged by the gospel, to believe that such a life is possible, and they are powerfully attracted to people who are living as if it is.

A high school can have a transformational impact on a student’s sense of “self” over a four year period!  If they soak in a culture of optimism, if they are immersed in a culture of excellence, if they’re blessed by teachers who care about them and lift them up when they stumble, and if they’re elevated by a dynamic, lively faith, we believe Catholic high schools can change students' lives!  

That’s our “why”, and I think if you talk to our teachers and get to know them, they’ll have their own way of saying it, but their “why” is the same. 

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You would be entering St. Michael at an exciting time in our young history.  

• We think we’re going to be close to maximum enrollment next year, and may even have wait lists for the freshman year as early as January. We started at 99 kids in 2016, then 190, then 290, and this year, 322. We’ll graduate a relatively small senior class of 56, and bring in about 90 new freshman, and counting some attrition, should come in around 340-350 next year. 

• We’re now a complete 9-12 program, with academic levels at either the Collegiate Studies or Honors/AP level. We offer up to 9 A.P. classes for those capable of those classes, with a full array of elective offerings in music, art, chorus, science, weight-lifting, languages and other classes. We have a resource program, called  Aegis, for students with documented learning disabilities, and a wonderful teacher whose job it is to assist these kids make their way through our Collegiate Studies program.

• Our athletic teams will be starting their 3rd year at the varsity level, with 11 current varsity teams, and will be likely adding golf as a 12th varsity team next year. 

• We’re beginning a five year building project for additional athletic facilities, made possible by a successful 5 million dollar capital campaign,  and will be starting on the construction of a 10,000 square foot field house this spring, to include a weight room, male and female locker rooms, coaches’ offices, a media room and athletic trainer’s office. When the money is in hand from the pledges, we’ll also be building a football/soccer stadium, a baseball field, a central concessions/bathroom complex, and adding over 500 additional parking places. We are now blessed to own 80 acres here—and will have lots of room to expand as our path becomes clearer in the future. 

• I believe we have a first rate faculty and staff. Well credentialed, experienced, they enjoy teenagers, and care for them. 

• And though we’re beginning our 5th year next year, we’re still young enough that we’re still creating ourselves—and so we’re looking for families, for students, who will co-create this place with us. So it’s kind of  cool time to be a student here—if a student sees a gap somewhere—like in our extra curricular clubs, for example, perhaps she or he recruit a teacher to sponsor it, and then can be the founder of that club to fill that gap!  

I can tell you—It’s a fun place to work,  a fun place to study, a fun place to grow up! I think our students would say it’s hard work at times, but they’d also say they have a lot of fun here.  Hopefully, you’ll get a sense of all that tonight as you meet people. 

I’ll be around all evening. Will be happy to talk with you personally if you have questions.