Statement

The charism of the Brothers of The Sacred Heart is a gift from God to the Church. Our predecessors made us heirs of this charism through their devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As members of a school community striving to embody this charism, our primary mission is the evangelization of young people. Fundamental to our educational charism is the response of André Coindre to poor, neglected, and dechristianized youth.

Today we draw our inspiration from a spirituality of love expressed in the Gospel and lived through the compassion of Christ. This spirituality informs, shapes, and directs the educational ministry of the school community. Through our commitment as professional educators in the faith, we nurture and model love and compassion in Christian community.

Each and every student is known, valued, treasured, and taught in partnership with the family. Hospitality, availability, personal interest, and concern for others are hallmarks of this charism. We emphasize the formation of the whole person, traditional values, high expectations, self-discipline, fairness, professional competence and collaboration. The respect, kindness, and concern, which flow from the charism, are signs within the school of the compassion of Christ.

Characteristics

A Spirituality of the Heart of Christ

Education in the charism of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart flows from a spirituality of the Heart of Christ, which permeates the entire school community. This spirituality of love is characterized by relationships based on compassion, attention, affection, and respect for the individual.

Integration of Faith and Life

By integrating faith and life, our students and staff demonstrate the spirituality of the Heart of Christ. As educators in the faith, we model for our students and for one another faith in action as a necessary response to the Gospel.

A Spirit of Community

Encountering Christ in each individual, we build community in our schools through close relationships, shared ministry, and common values. We give special attention to developing a spirit of openness, friendliness, and mutual support. Hospitality, family spirit, collegiality, teamwork, and appropriate consultation are characteristics of our schools.

Formation of the Whole Person

Because students are valued and treasured gifts from God, we accept responsibility for their formation as a sacred trust. We form the whole person by developing the God-given intellectual and physical abilities of our students and by advancing their spiritual, moral, and social consciousness. The total school environment contributes to their formation through emphasis on the modeling of Christian values, high expectations, personal responsibility, and mutual respect. As educators, we model these values through our own personal formation and professional development.

Special concern for the Poor and Neglected

André Coindre's concern for poor, neglected and dechristianized youth is at the heart of our educational mission. We share his determination to provide educational opportunities for as many materially poor students as possible and continue to look for new ways to increase our efforts on their behalf. We work to sensitize the entire school community to the needs of the materially poor. We strive to address the needs of our students who experience learning, personal or social problems.

Availability

In our tradition, we view being with the young as privileged opportunities to show expressions of concern, encouragement and love. We see availability as a witness to the compassionate love of Christ. It is an active presence, which requires accessibility and approachability. Availability provides the opportunity for accompaniment, support and vigilance.

An Ordered and Structured Environment

We believe that a well-ordered, structured and nurturing environment is essential to teach and to experience love of God, love of neighbor and love of learning. In such an environment, we strive to teach our students to respect authority and one another and to develop a sense of self-discipline. In our tradition, discipline respects the dignity of the individual, is consistent and fair, and is based on relationships of mutual trust and cooperation.

Copyright 2002 Mount Saint Charles Academy