St. John's Prep launching Aspire to Excellence curriculum next year

COLLEGEVILLE ― St. John's Prep, a Catholic day and boarding college preparatory school, announced changes in its curriculum will be coming next school year for its high school students.

"It's like a college major. We're setting something in motion that's much more like a collegiate experience than a traditional high school experience," Jon McGee, St. John's Prep head of school, said. "They will have a chance to have a more intense learning experience in each discipline both inside the classroom, with traditional classroom experiences, and outside the classroom."

The Aspire to Excellence curriculum "will challenge our students as deeply creative thinkers, intellectual risk-takers, and imaginative problem-solvers," according to a press release from the school. "At the same time, we also are fully engaged in activities that promise to expand student access and opportunity, secure our long-term commitment to global education, support the continuing professional development of our remarkable faculty, and significantly enhance our students’ athletic experience."

Outside-of-the-classroom experiences could include live musical or artistic performances, scientific competitions, internships and more, McGee said. High schoolers could also take a college course at St. John's University or the College of St. Benedict while earning transferable credit.

This curriculum is similar to the Problem (or Project) Based learning method which is slowly becoming popular across the country. Cathedral middle schoolers in St. Cloud are being educated through this method beginning this year.

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"What we're trying to do is encourage students to essentially develop a learning plan beginning at the ninth grade... I know from working in higher education that the more opportunities we provided for our students to distinguish themselves as individuals in competitive admissions environments, the better we're going to be," McGee said.

Dr. Christine Glomski, St. John’s Prep principal, provided an example of a hypothetical freshman student who wants to go into science as a career. If that student wanted to earn a distinction in science, and other disciplines, they would be working on the merits of each area to earn a distinction in each discipline up to their senior year. Before graduating, that student would take a capstone course to write an academic paper, project and presentation.

The class of 2023 will be a last to graduate with the school's traditional curriculum. Every student graduating from 2024 and on will graduate with the Aspire to Excellence curriculum which will include merits, distinctions and honors.

The school approved the strategic plan involving the curriculum in 2021. McGee described the approval as a "bold move" since the pandemic was still new at the time. He still felt the move was the right move because "you have to think about how you're going to come out of it."

The school's staff played a major role in the design of the curriculum, McGee said. They needed to make sure that the curriculum complied with Minnesota law and the seven prep learning goals. The learning goals are: excel academically, grow spiritually, develop socially, serve compassionately, think creatively, embrace difference and engage globally.

Both McGee and Glomski said the framework for the curriculum is complete, but the finer details are still being worked out. "The angels are in the details," McGee said. Students and families should get a clearer picture of what the curriculum will look like this winter.

Because PBL is still new in practice as a method, McGee added that there will be a significant investment in faculty development over the next three years.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. John's Prep launching new curriculum in 2023