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St. John Paul II High School prepares students for life
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December 30, 2014
Perry Le Grange, at right, is Principal of St. John Paul II High School
Marshall Matthews was nervous and excited when he walked back inside St. John Paul II High School to teach physics and chemistry in August 2014.
The 22-year-old had graduated from the school in 2010, where he was the valedictorian of the first graduating class. So it was not totally unfamiliar territory. But he had concerns about students who might try to take advantage of someone new to the profession.
"I wanted to find balance between being mean and being a good teacher," Matthews said.
If his interaction with his students is any indication, it looks like he has found that balance.
Matthews credits his teachers and the staff at St. John Paul II High School with giving him the tools and the confidence to succeed in his life. Because the classes were small, about 75 graduated in the first class in 2010, Matthews and his classmates received a great deal of personal attention from teachers, he said. The largest class he teaches has 24 students, but most of his classes average about 16. The total school population is 358 for grades nine through 12.
Teacher Marshall Matthews works out a physics problem with junior and senior honor students at St. John Paul II High School. Matthews was a 2010 graduate of St. John Paul II and now teaches physics and chemistry at the high school.
Dayna Mazzei Worchel for South Texas Catholic
"I wanted to come back and share and give back to the school that gave me so much," he said.
Being a student there prepared the once introverted boy for college academics and gave him a good foundation in his faith and in his life, Matthews said.
Perry Le Grange has been principal at the school for six years and said much of the credit for that preparation goes to great faculty and staff.
"We have the unique challenge of educating the student mentally, physically and spiritually," Le Grange said.
But the students there are hard workers too, and deserve their fair share of accolades, Le Grange said.
The high school had its beginnings in 2006, when it started with one ninth-grade class, adding a class each year until 2010. Bishop Edmond Carmody, who served as bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi from 2000-10 was instrumental in helping found the school, Development Director Laura Okoniewski said.
A group of priests in the Diocese of Corpus Christi recommended an endowment be established, and Carmody sold the few possessions he had at auction at a special fundraiser for the school. He also helped to establish a $10 million endowment to fund the operations at the school.
Tuition at the high school runs $5,750 per year and 70 percent of the students receive tuition assistance, either through the school's endowment, donations or the annual Black and Gold Gala fundraising dinner, Okoniewski said.
The fundraiser, in its sixth year, raised $140,000 in 2014, all of which went directly to student tuition assistance, she said. This year's event will be held on Jan. 31, beginning at 5:30 p.m., at the American Bank Center. It will feature a live and silent auction, a live band and dinner. Sponsorships are still available.
The school boasts a 100 percent graduation rate, and a 95 percent college acceptance rate, Okoniewski said. More than half of the staff has postgraduate degrees.
And there is a full array of programs, which could rival that of any public school, including sports, art, music and dual credit classes. Because the classes are much smaller, students get more one on one time with teachers, Okoniewski said. In 2012, the school had a National Merit Scholar.
Beyond academics, students participate in a wide variety of volunteer projects, and each year, a class gets to attend a retreat, Okoniewski said.
"At St. John Paul II, our mission is to provide a good Catholic education. We are about the whole student," Okoniewski said.
For more information about the Black and Gold Gala, go to www.jpiihighschool.org or call (361) 855-5744, ext. 233.
