A Lucky Listen

 BranDon Gay is a tenth grader at St. Edward. The way he discovered the high school while in eighth grade at St. Thomas Aquinas is both lucky and a vivid reminder of how we can do more to support families in the high school search. 

“My story is pretty funny,” he explains. The first time he heard of St. Ed’s, “I was listening to the radio in the car, and they were talking about the school winning the state championship in football three years in a row. Then they got to talking about academics. My mom dug deeper, and we applied.”

Family Ambitions

His reason for choosing a rigorous high school is clear. “My dad always says, ‘you’re going to have a better job than me. You’re going to go to college. You’re going to excel.’” He adds, “I want that for myself too.” He’s taking full advantage of the academic offerings at St. Ed’s; this year, he has moved into honors courses that lay the groundwork for him to be part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in eleventh and twelfth grades. 

Xavier Marflak is a ninth grader who came to St. Ed’s from Metro Catholic. Like BranDon, he is also taking a host of honors classes—and he shares high expectations with his parents. “They didn’t go to college. They hope I get into a really good one.” He has an additional motivation: “to surpass my older sisters.” 

Familiar Rigor, New Workloads

Both boys tell us that the rigor of the work in many subjects isn’t that different from what they experienced in their Partnership schools—except there’s a lot more of it. “There are more tests,” Xavier explains. 

BranDon adds, “It’s very dense. You have to pay attention, or else you will fall behind. But it’s fascinating too—” and his eyes light up as he explains what he’s learning about the behavior of subatomic particles in chemistry. “You would never know that exists,” he marvels.

Xavier’s feedback suggests that our middle school students may be up for being challenged even further. BranDon, meanwhile, shouts out one St. Thomas teacher in particular—Erin Dziak—who prepared him well for the transition, particularly for reading complicated texts and writing essays. “She prepared me to encounter and figure out things for myself, rather than always needing a helping hand”—a concept of productive struggle near and dear to Partnership educators’ approach. 

Social Transitions

Xavier and BranDon shared candid reflections on the social transition to high school. St. Edward has significantly greater economic diversity than the boys’ Partnership schools did. So while both were eager to become part of the brotherhood they saw there, they had apprehensions. BranDon wondered if fellow students would be “unwelcoming” and fracture into groups based on culture or ethnicity, while Xavier was on the lookout for “the stereotype that freshmen get bullied by upperclassmen.” 

But both agree without hesitation, as Xavier says, “that everyone’s welcoming.” BranDon adds, “I am able to express myself more here.” 

Both boys had the same advice to share with younger students who might be worried about fitting in at a high-caliber high school like St. Edward: “Be yourself,” Xavier urged. In fact, that’s why he would recommend the school to other students; “You can truly be yourself at St. Ed’s.” 

Grateful to Partners

Our team is grateful to Dan Wallenhorst, the school’s Director of Admissions, who takes to get to know students like Xavier and BranDon, as well as our schools. And we are committed to giving more students the preparation they need so that the switch to transformational high schools like St. Ed’s is, as BranDon says, “a big transition. But if you’re prepared for it, it’s actually not a big deal.”