Edmund Rice Christian Brother Education
Our school is a member of The Edmund Rice School Network, a consortium of Catholic schools that educate in the spirit and tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Each school community strives to embody the values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Essential Elements of an Edmund Rice Christian Brother Education.
The Office of Educational Services provides programs, services, resources, and consultation to the consortium in order to assist the schools in their ministry of Catholic education in the tradition of Blessed Edmund Rice. For more information, visit ercbna.org.
Blessed Edmund Rice was given the grace to respond to the call of Jesus by identifying with Christ in the poor. His example evoked a deep awareness of God’s loving presence in all with whom he came in contact. He also awakened within them a consciousness of their dignity as children of God. He invited his followers to share the Gospel insight to reach out to the needy, especially the materially poor.
“Edmund Rice was moved by the Holy Spirit to open his whole heart to Christ present and appealing to him in the poor.”
(1984 General Chapter).
The life of Blessed Edmund Rice – businessman, husband, father, widower, religious brother, teacher, and founder – challenges all involved in Christian Brother Education to live and teach Gospel values. His vision inspires the Essential Elements of an Edmund Rice Christian Brother Education:
The Essential Elements of an Edmund Rice Christian Brother Education calls educational ministry sites and those working in them to . . .
- Proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in word and deed
- Permeate the entire curriculum, activities, and all aspects of the educational process with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ
- Encourage young people to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ
- Provide opportunities for liturgies, retreats, vocation awareness workshops and daily prayer
- Give priority to religious instruction with opportunities for faith development and theological understanding
- Participate in the sacramental life of the Church and model a living faith through the use of rituals and symbols
- Foster devotion to Mary and the communion of saints
- Ensure that Catholic identity permeates all endeavors: all classes and activities, procedures and policies, services and programs
- Promote policies and structures that reflect a climate of compassion for the poor and disadvantaged
- Include education and advocacy for peace, justice, global awareness and care for the Earth
- Prepare students to work toward the creation of a just society
- Encourage ministry experiences that work with and serve the poor and marginalized
- Support mission areas at home and abroad
- Establish tuition and scholarship policies that open educational opportunities to the poor and disadvantaged
- Provide a disciplined, safe atmosphere in which students are free to grow and take responsibility for their own learning and for the life of the community
- Sustain compassionate, respectful relationships among all stakeholders
- Be in union with the Church through commitment to service and formation of community
- Encourage faculty and staff to give daily witness to their integral role in communal faith formation
- Embrace the human condition and welcome God’s healing
- Promote respect for each individual as created in the image and likeness of God
- Value the diversity of the human family and seek to reflect diversity among the student, faculty, and staff
- Promote strong programs for personal, professional, and pastoral care
- Offer co-curricular activities and programs that are important to a student’s holistic education
- Strive to provide just remuneration for faculty and staff
- Promote respect for each individual as created in the image and likeness of God
- Value the diversity of the human family and seek to reflect diversity among the student, faculty, and staff
- Promote strong programs for personal, professional, and pastoral care
- Offer co-curricular activities and programs that are important to a student’s holistic education
- Strive to provide just remuneration for faculty and staff
- Promote a strong academic curriculum and cultivate a desire for excellence
- Develop an educational culture that fosters the growth of the whole person, higher-order thinking, and life-long learning
In November 2018 we received the results of our Office of Educational Services evaluation. Their report is available here.