The Dominican order dates back to the 1200s, with many of its members historically involved in teaching.  That practice still continues today, with many Dominican sisters playing a prominent role in Catholic elementary and high schools nationwide.

Frassati Catholic High School in Spring, Texas, is a growing institution for grades 9-12 serving 345 students in the north Houston area. It opened its doors to students in 2013; the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, have played an active role in the establishment of the school, beginning in 2011. Today, three of the Nashville Dominicans teach full time and a fourth, Dominican Sister John Paul, has served as principal since the school’s founding.

In her community — of around 300 members — sisters earn teaching degrees at the order’s Aquinas College. “It is there that our sisters receive a solid Catholic formation, studying the human person and learning educational truths from the perspective of St. Thomas Aquinas,” Sister John Paul explained to the Register.

The sisters earn bachelor’s and some master’s degrees and are “excellently prepared” for teaching students in the classroom.

Working with today’s teens can be a challenge, she said, especially with “the advent of technology, social media and the Internet.” She continued, “We work to reduce their screen time for the sake of the formation of their minds. They need a lot of person-to-person time, face-to-face, with no device between them. It helps them learn basic social skills.”

Instilling the Catholic faith begins with faculty and staff living the faith themselves, showing students “‘another way,’ as opposed to the pitfalls and negative parts of our culture.” Also, the school offers Mass and regular availability of the sacraments, a Blessed Sacrament chapel, images of the saints, regular prayer, religion class and regular conversations about the faith.  Frassati Catholic also has a strong pro-family, pro-life culture, including a Culture of Life Club and participating in pro-life events, such as the annual Texas Rally for Life in Austin.

The school is named for Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925), a lay Dominican to be canonized Aug. 3. He is an apt choice for the school’s name, Sister John Paul believes, as he was “an unassuming, simple young man who loved his friends, was athletic and the life of the party, but who also had a deep spiritual life and love for the poor.”

The Nashville Dominicans serve in a variety of schools throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Europe and Australia.  

Among the many elementary schools they serve is St. Gertrude School in Madeira, Ohio. The school opened its doors to 40 children grades K-8 in 1934, with three Nashville Dominican sisters overseeing the school. 

Nashville Dominicans have served as teachers and administrators since; today, Dominican Sister Mary Agnes Greiffendorf serves as vice principal and three sisters teach in the classroom. The school serves 350 students in grades K-8. 

“As a school in the Dominican tradition, we seek to form students to seek truth and to desire wisdom and goodness,” Sister Mary Agnes said. “Jesus Christ, ‘the Way, the Truth and the Life,’ is the model we present and the foundation of everything we do. We cultivate reverence for the gift of life and teach the students to recognize the goodness of all that God has created.”

Formation of the students in virtue is a key focus of the staff, she continued, and she noted that the Nashville Dominicans’ “Virtues in Practice” program was first developed at St. Gertrude. While most students are Catholic, a few non-Catholics attend the school, some of whom convert through the influence of the curriculum and staff.  

While some are pessimistic about the likelihood of the young embracing Catholicism, Sister Mary Agnes countered, “The on-the-ground reality is that faith is alive and strong in many of our young people and they want to be saints. Jesus is the answer they are looking for, and they are open — in many ways more open — than young people of other generations.”

JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California, is an independent institution operating in the Diocese of Orange. Founded in 2003, it serves 1,300 students. For the last several years, its teaching staff has included five Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist (motherhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan) who teach not only theology, but math, English and biology.

The Dominican Sisters’ impact on the school has been “immeasurable,” Principal Eric Stroupe told the Register. “They are a good witness to our students, women who have dedicated their lives to service of God and the Church. The Dominicans are also a joyful order and demonstrate to our kids that one can live a religious life and have it be a life of joy. It cuts against the stereotypes about religious life.”

Among the sisters’ contributions to the school is the introduction of a virtue program, in which a particular virtue is stressed for a time throughout the curriculum.  If the week’s virtue is fortitude, students may see it emphasized in the classroom, or mentioned in sports programs or during the homily in the all-school Mass. Vicaress General Sister Mary Michael said the program “builds up the awareness of the virtues and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit we receive in our baptism and how to cultivate these virtues throughout our lives. Living the virtuous life leads to true happiness!”

The Dominican Sisters make an effort to get to know each of their students, Stroupe said, and are regulars at school events and “are our students’ biggest cheerleaders.”  

Between 30 and 40 of JSerra’s non-Catholic students convert to the faith annually due to the influence of the sisters, he also reported. While the success of a Catholic school is “hidden in the interior life of each individual student,” Sister Mary Michael said, conversions and students and their families becoming more active in the Church is a sign that a school is on the right track. She added, “As the years go by, our former students are continuing to remain committed to their faith, entering fully into their vocations and building up the Church whether by their marriages, priesthood or consecration as religious.”

The Ann Arbor Dominicans have 135 members who teach in 27 elementary and high schools nationwide and three universities. According to Sister Mary Michael, the sisters “proclaim the truth with unflagging zeal in the spirit of St. Dominic and in response to St. John Paul II’s urgent appeal for a New Evangelization.”

It is the sisters’ “privilege” to work in the New Evangelization, she said, adding that “we see miracles every day, and it’s a joy to see God working in the lives of the students we teach.”

LEARN MORE The Nashville Dominicans’ “Virtues in Practice” program for grades pre-K through 8 was developed at St. Gertrude School.  Its purpose is to help students grow closer to Christ through imitating his life and virtues. The program may be downloaded for free at: NashvilleDominican.org.