Dear Friends of Saint Francis Classical,

Greetings from Bally, Pennsylvania, the home of the oldest Catholic school in the original thirteen colonies, a school that has been operating since 1743.  In America, anything that been around for over 280 years is pretty impressive, and the story of Most Blessed Sacrament Parish and its educational innovation is remarkable. For now, I'd like to focus on the most recent years of this story regarding the founding of Saint Francis Classical Catholic Academy and how the Holy Spirit has been working yet again in Bally, inspiring a community to take the same kind of leap of faith that Fr. Schneider made when he founded a parish and a school in the Pennsylvania wilderness, decades before the birth of the United States of America.

As you know, in September 2023 SFCCA opened its doors to 50 students from 28 families. What I am excited to share with you today is an update on the progress made possible by all of you who helped us launch this re-birth, as well as express a deep and abiding thank you from the board, faculty, staff, and parents of SFCCA for taking that leap of faith with us.  As you will see below, we have had a tremendous start to year two of our school, building upon the solid foundation you helped us lay last year.  I hope you enjoy learning more about what is going on at our school, and please know that you are always welcome to stop by to see how your investment in the future of our Church and our Country is progressing.  For now, Onward!

I believe it is safe to say that for many reasons, there is a growing dissatisfaction in our country for the educational status quo from families who just want a safe, sane, and serene school setting for their children. Those of us laboring in the vineyard of Classical Catholic education have been waiting for the dam to break, so to speak, in conventional education, and if this year is any indication, I do think the holes in the levee are getting bigger.

Last year, we ended up with 50 students in Grades PK-8 who hailed from 28 families all across the Lehigh and Delaware Valleys. This year, primarily through word of mouth advertising from existing families, we now have 100 students enrolled in Grades PK-10, as we have begun a new high school program for a single cohort of 9th and 10th graders.  There is little question that the Holy Spirit is at work here in Bally, and the more we entrust our efforts to our Blessed Mother, and the harder we work, we are confident that as more families learn about us, the more families will decide to join our intentional Christian community of believers.

When new families come-in to meet with me and to tour our school for the first time, there are some consistent observations they make as we discuss why they are shopping around for a new school for their children.  Whether they are coming from another public or private school, a common denominator is their frustration with a system that treats them like a number, and a learning environment that is far from nurturing and unable to meet their children where they are.  Parents also long for a school environment where they also can find community and camaraderie, where other like-minded families can draw strength from one another as they navigate the challenging times we find ourselves in.  

It is abundantly clear that certainly since Covid, and no doubt reaching much further back, there are just so many more children that are behind in their academic and moral development, a reflection of the failure of conventional curriculum to teach kids the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as to form the souls of the whole child, especially in terms of living out the Golden Rule.  

The bottom line is that parents want better for their children, which makes the mission of Saint Francis Classical that much more important.  Again, thank you for helping us allow more families with moderate means afford our beautiful school.

Whether you are talking about our students, our teachers, our parents, or our supportive board and parishioners, we all long for a greater sense of community, one where friendships are forged, and mutual support is available when we all fact the inevitable challenges of daily life.   Like George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life), we are all fighting the “Battle of Bedford Falls” in our daily journey of life, and it helps to do that with friends (“No man is a failure who has friends,” the Angel Clarence reminds George at the end of Capra’s classic Christmas tale of redemption).   

When Jesus established His Holy Apostolic Church, Christians were a persecuted minority in a Roman Empire which would do all it could do to snuff-out the Light of Christ.  We all know that Christianity prevailed, and by the time of St. Francis of Assisi, a new age of Christendom had emerged, and with it, many of the traditions of liberal learning which the Church was instrumental in establishing and that inform our curriculum today.  But in-between that era and today, we have seen another rise and fall, so that today, our age more resembles that original Apostolic Age that Peter and Paul had led. 

While Christians in America are not subject to the same persecution as our brethren in the early Church, we face more subtle yet just as destructive forces that work to separate our children from Christ.  As a result, we who are charged with passing on the traditions of faith and reason to students must work to “reimagine tradition” so that the lessons of the past can get through the din of our cacophonous, distracted internet age.

The work is tough, but so rewarding, but in order to do it and do it well, especially to be able to recruit, develop, inspire, and retain quality classically-trained teachers, we need financial and physical resources to accomplish our holy mission.  With that in mind, I hope we can count on you to continue your generous support, and even more importantly, help us attract additional supporters who can help us pay our bills and expand our offerings to more financially-strapped families.  The way we fund education in America is thoroughly unjust, as our parents have to pay twice to fund their child’s education, but until that system is reformed, we must rely upon the goodwill and charity of folks like you.  

On behalf of the students, teachers, and parents, thank you so much for what you have done, are doing, and will do in the future for our school. You are always in our prayers. Onward!

Saint Francis, pray for us!

Richard A Brake, Ph.D.

Headmaster

Another defining feature of Saint Francis Classical is that search for community has drawn folks not only from all over the Lehigh and Delaware Valleys, it has also attracted incredible teachers from across the country who want to be part of our transformative mission.  In fact, two such teachers happened to be the Mother-Daughter tandem of Melissa and Miriam Diodati, who have brought their amazing talents to Bally all the way from Arizona for the benefit of our students. The Diodati’s are a gift to SFCCA, not only in the classroom, but as models for our entire student body as they live out the theological and classical virtues we are called upon as Christian educators to impart.  

Mrs. Diodati is a 30-year veteran of classical schooling, first as a homeschool Mom, and then through several stints at a variety of classical schools both in Arizona and Pennsylvania.  She is a curricular whiz, and as our Academic Dean, is indispensable as we build our Catholic Liberal Arts curriculum from the ground-up.  In addition, Mrs. Diodati teaches our entire humanities offerings for our fifth-eighth graders.  Most important of all, the children simply adore her. You can't help but be inspired when you hear Mrs. Diodati speak of the benefits of classical education and get a sense of her dedication to Saint Francis Classical. As she will tell you, “This is a mission. This is a calling.  I know I have been called by God to be here in this community to support these parents, these families, these children.” 

Regarding Miss Diodati, the apple has not fallen far from the tree.  A master teacher, and a very accomplished student of history, Miss Diodati’s third and fourth grade students have flourished under her tutelage, taking-on small and large tasks with enthusiasm and expertise.  Last year, Miss Diodati’s students memorized the entirety of Longfellow’s Paul Revere's Ride, and this year they are working on memorizing prominent scenes from Shakespeare’s many tragedies.  When you walk into her classroom, the children are always happy and energetic, and proud to tell you what they are learning. This surely comes from having a teacher who is as attentive and nurturing as Miss Diodati. In her words, “The best part about teaching children at Saint Francis Classical is how passionate they are – they feel everything, they want to share everything, and they have so much hospitality. Anybody who comes through that door, they are welcoming, and they are there to help them.” 

The faculty at Saint Francis Classical are on the front lines of this educational revolution, and we are extraordinarily blessed to have the Diodatis helping to lead the charge!

When you turn onto Pine Street in Bally, PA, and approach the campus of Most Blessed Sacrament Parish and Saint Francis Classical Catholic Academy, you cannot help but feel like you are going back into time, back to an era where the pace was slower, the neighbors knew each other, and both parish and school worked together to help the children know Jesus.  Perhaps that is why the parishioners of MBS along with their pastor Father Richard James were inspired to reopen Saint Francis as an independent classical school, one whose approach is not only true to the historical legacy of authentic Catholic liberal arts education, but also just “fits” the spiritual ethos of the place. Two of the parishioners who were instrumental in this endeavor are Dr. George Chovanes and Mr. Patrick Neher.

It is interesting to hear George and Pat speak about everything that went into the re-founding of SFCCA-the inspiration, the challenges, and the profound statement from a fellow parishioner that helped put everything in perspective. As George asserts, “People are right to be worried about our times now.  If you look at the statistics, depression and anxiety have increased in the young fifty percent.  Whatever values that the present culture is trying to inculcate in the young are not working.  That is a major reason why we wanted to found a Classical Catholic school, as that model has stood the test of time.” 

As with most things that are truly worthwhile, the process of opening Saint Francis Classical came with a unique set of challenges. At Back to School Night this past August, Pat Neher told the following story to our faculty and families: “At first we were struggling to figure out enrollments and budgets, and it was getting to the point where it was discouraging.  And then Martha Gehringer, who is no longer with us, who was then battling cancer, simply declared, 'Mary says, "Teach the children."'  Everything became quiet, and from then on no one worried about budgets and enrollments anymore.  That’s why I think the Holy Spirit is at work in our school.”

Looking back at last year and the beginning of this year, it is impossible to imagine how we could have pulled anything off without the herculean efforts of both George and Pat.  They have literally given, along with their lovely wives Margaret and Carol, their blood, sweat, toil, and tears to launch our authentic, “old-school” Catholic Academy.  Whether it is building a greenhouse from scratch; moving school furniture and equipment; coaching Cross Country; painting the school building; substitute teaching; or any other of a host of tasks large and small to ensure the teachers have what they need to properly educate their students, George and Pat have been the heroes of Saint Francis Classical.  Of course, their primary role is as part of the leadership provided by our Board of Directors, whose vision it was to re-found Saint Francis as an independent school that had the support of the Bishop; form a separate 501c3 charity; recruit administrators and teachers; and raise and donate themselves hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars to bridge the gap between tuition revenue and the school’s expenses.  As humble Christian gentlemen, they always downplay their role, insisting that it is the Holy Spirit at work, and they are merely His instrument, but I think we owe them an overwhelming debt of gratitude for what they have done to make Saint Francis Classical a reality.  It is my fervent prayer that we discover other such heroes in our community who can stand alongside George and Pat in support of our rising generation.