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Loyola, Holy Name of Jesus School forge new bond
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By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald
While they have operated side by side on the same campus, shared Ignatian spirituality since 1891 and cooperated on joint projects, Loyola University New Orleans and Holy Name of Jesus Parish and School declared a formal partnership Jan. 11 that will include regular interactions between Loyola professors and elementary students.The new partnership was announced with a video shared on social media.
Jesuit Father Mark Thibodeaux, pastor of Holy Name of Jesus; Kirsch Wilberg, school principal; Loyola president Tania Tetlow; Dr. RaeNell Houston, superintendent of Catholic schools and director of the Catholic Education and Faith Formation department for the Archdiocese of New Orleans; and Archbishop Gregory Aymond all praised the win-win venture.“The new partnership will help us all (students, faculty and staff) grow together in community, faith, learning, ministry and mission,” Father Thibodeaux said.
New leaders dreamed
The idea for deeper collaboration between a university community and elementary school surfaced several years ago, said Father Thibodeaux, when he and Wilberg invited Tetlow to tour her alma mater, Holy Name of Jesus School.The respective administrators were all fairly new in their positions and began a conversation about the shared Jesuit mission and educational goals of Holy Name of Jesus School and Loyola University to form “men and women, boys and girls for others, a mission to help the next generation of New Orleanians to become Christian disciples and servant leaders that God is calling them to be,” Father Thibodeaux said.
They identified opportunities for “Loyola to share resources in the area of faculty support, facilities, technology, physical education and more. And, Holy Name of Jesus could provide for Loyola hands-on training for its students.”
Wilberg expressed excitement to see how the partnership will further the school’s academic motto “to wonder, to achieve and to make a difference together” adopted last year.“Partnering with Loyola, Holy Name of Jesus ensures that that sense of wonder in education continues in our students by providing access to STEM labs, new studios, performing arts presentations and even athletic facilities that we wouldn’t have,” she said.
In addition, Holy Name of Jesus faculty will be able to take classes and attend seminars at Loyola, and the elementary school’s employees will be able to send their children to Loyola at a discounted rate. Loyola students will go to Holy Name of Jesus School for observation, student teaching and work study.
Benefits to all parties
Before the formal agreement, Loyola and Holy Name of Jesus had already collaborated. In 2021, an inaugural summer camp at Holy Name allowed students to swim and exercise at Loyola’s Recreational Sports Complex and visit the STEM labs at Loyola, enjoy concerts and performing arts presentations on campus and take nature walks with faculty from Loyola’s Environment Program. Loyola also maintained Holy Name of Jesus Church building.Holy Name of Jesus School assumed Loyola’s former Whelan Day Care Center, changing its name to the Little Gators program for infants and toddlers, and opened it at a discount to faculty and staff at both institutions.
Loyola professors in fields that relate to Holy Name’s curriculum – such as in environmental studies, American history, vocal performance and Catholic studies – began visiting elementary classrooms as guest speakers and helped teachers enrich their curriculums.
In addition, Holy Name employees can now meet one-on-one with Loyola educators to continue their academic journey. Holy Name families and employees also can join Loyola’s Sports Complex at a discounted rate.
Sharing the Jesuit charism
Tetlow said 500 years ago, the Jesuits helped create the educational system now used across the world – the kind of excellence in education that transforms men and women for others. Having that shared charism made the formal partnership easy.“We are very proud to partner with Holy Name for many reasons,” she said. “We share a common mission and purpose. We’re thrilled for our own faculty and staff to send their children to a school that will give their kids a Jesuit education from the age of 1 (and) to see the Holy Name students engage with our high-tech facilities and science labs on our campus. There is nothing more inspiring sometimes than having really good questions from fourth-graders on a field trip to remind you why you love teaching.”
In the video announcement, Houston said the new alignment will enhance the Catholic schools’ mission of creating “lifelong disciples who answer God’s call in their lives and live the value of our faith in society.”
“From this point forward, they will no longer share just geography, but truly be partners in ministry and mission,” she said. “(This will) benefit faculty and students at both institutions in unique and creative ways both in the classroom and beyond.”
Archbishop Aymond believes the Holy Spirit inspired this partnership to “aid everyone involved in becoming lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ as they grow, learn and are formed in the opportunities afforded by these two institutions coming together.”