IMPACT REPORT 2022-23
A LIFE ROOTED IN PRAYER AND THE SACRAMENTS
Friends of St. James Academy,
St. James Academy was opened in the fall of 2005 with 124 students whose parents chose to believe in a school that had no history. We were promoting an educational institution that had visions and dreams of what we would become but we knew it would be rooted in creating disciples of Jesus. Passing on the Catholic Faith to the next generation while educating students on a daily basis was the Mission we lived by from day one. I am amazed how the vision created by Archbishop Keleher for our school is thriving stronger than ever. Every morning I walk into our chapel for Mass and am amazed at the crowd of 200 to 250 students and staff in attendance. They are all aware of the importance of starting our day with the Eucharist. On Fridays in the fall, we open up the back walls of the chapel to accommodate the crowd for Mass. What a beautiful sight. As much as we love to celebrate the academic and athletic accomplishments of our students, St. James Academy is most proud that our young people leave our campus faith-filled and ready to make a difference in our community and Church. With enrollment at
YOUR GENEROSITY IS HELPING TRANSFORM OUR CAMPUS, WHILE LIVING OUR MISSION
an all-time high, it is very apparent that St. James Academy has become a destination school for the education and formation of many students and families.
As we continue to build on the foundation of the mission created in 2005, our student successes are impressive. St. James continues to demonstrate excellence on the field, court, stage, and in the classroom. A few highlights from the class of 2023:
• Thirty-eight students achieved a score of 30 or higher on the ACT, and joined the ranks of our Thunder 30 Club.
• The Class of 2023 was offered more than $11.9 million in scholarships and graduates are attending 54 different schools across the country.
• Our girls track and field team won back-to-back State Championships.
• Jackson Poznich entered the seminary at Kenrick-Glennon and is studying to become a priest for the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas.
As always, I am humbled by and grateful for your continued support of St. James Academy. Our students and staff are grateful for your generosity as we are watching our campus transformation. The Spark Center for Academics has been an incredible boost to the academic desires of our students. The Rhetoric and Media Arts space is a hub of activity, creativity, and promotion of our Mission. The Campus Ministry team is enjoying a beautiful interactive space that is helping promote evangelization. Following the creation of our campus master plan by architects, Multistudio, we engaged the Steier Group for a feasibility study of a potential campaign for the expansion of our campus. The feedback from the study has been overwhelmingly positive. We are about to embark
on some very important and exciting times at St. James Academy. More to come.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support of our community.
God Bless,
BOARD MEMBERS
Kathy Rasmussen, Chair
Mike Mahoney, Vice Chair
Teresa Kempf, Finance Chair
Andy Tylicki, President
Mike Book
Vince Cascone
Brandi Digiorgio
John Kmetz
Steve Smith
Jeff Tauscher
Fr. Scott Wallisch
Zena Weist
Fr. Jamie Zarse
A RIGOROUS, WELL-ROUNDED
ACADEMIC EDUCATION
Igniting Learning: St. James unveils the Spark Center for Academics’ new home
I started teaching in 1998. Back then I would work every football and basketball game, home and away – running the scoreboard, keeping stats, announcing, supervising – anything to earn spending money and follow our teams. I remember my favorite time of the week was waking up on Saturday mornings to check the Friday night high school scores. Who had the best teams? Who were the best schools?
Numbers create perception, right? But how many people actually know the numbers? It’s funny, but even though numbers should create perception, I think that perception outweighs the numbers most of the time.
MORE THAN NUMBERS
Consider this. Many people perceive St. James Academy as the ‘faith school.’ But what does that perception mean? Does it mean we place faith before all else or at the sacrifice of all else? Unfortunately, for some folks, the perception means we have weak academics or weak athletics because we have prioritized faith. Part of me wants to ask, “Did you see the scores in the paper on Saturday morning? Or are you just listening to the perception of others?” That same part of me wants the academic numbers to shine, to let the numbers write the academic narrative and shift the perception of St. James Academy. Here are our numbers:
• 38 students in the Class of 2023 scored a 30 or higher on the ACT
• Last year, we administered 408 AP Exams to 214 students.
• Over the last 5 years, our AP scores equivocate to 7,797 hours of college credit totaling $2.5M in tuition.
• Multiple award-winning faculty including the 2021 Archdiocesan Teacher of the Year, 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program Distinguished Teacher, and 2017 Kansas Finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching.
• Of our school population, 13.4% (127/948) students have academic support plans, and our Student Services department is exemplary.
I love our numbers; they go toeto-toe with any other school, especially our AP numbers. But numbers, as Dr. Rapp often says, only show what our students are accomplishing, not who they are becoming.
you ask him about his program, he will tell you the story of forming strong Catholic men, helping them find holiness through brotherhood, “iron sharpening iron,” and players become the men God created them to be.
Just the same, our principal never defines his school by data. He continues to push academic excellence, but if you ask him about our school, he will tell you that a school should cultivate wisdom and virtue, be inspired by a supernatural vision, be founded on Christian anthropology, animated by communion and community, be imbued with a Catholic worldview throughout its curriculum, and be sustained by gospel witness.
developing the minds and hearts of young people to know Truth, choose good, and live virtuously in the service of others.”
It’s ok to ask for the numbers. It is our responsibility to ensure our numbers show us striving for excellence. Whether the numbers create perception, or perception outweighs the numbers, we believe the story of our school is deeper and richer than either our numbers or perception. It is a story of keeping first things first. It is a story leading young men and women to know God, glorify God, and enjoy God forever.
• Over the last 5 years, our average ACT score is 24.7
Our head football coach never defines his team by wins and losses. He wants to win, but if
Or better yet, in the words written on the wall at the center of our school, “St. James Academy exists to pass on the Catholic Faith to the next generation. The community is rooted in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church and is dedicated to
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.
(Matthew 6:33)
Sam Rockford Director of Academic Programming
PREPARING OUR STUDENTS TO SHARE THE LIGHT OF CHRIST IN THE WORLD
2022-23 FISCAL YEAR TUITION AND FEES ADVANCEMENT INCOME $11.44M $1.139M PARISH SUPPORT $793K MISC. INCOME $205K SALARIES/BENEFITS $7.9M TUITION ASSISTANCE $2.179M PLANT MAINTENANCE/ UTILITIES $1.173M LOAN PAYMENTS $319K ADVANCEMENT/ ADMINISTRATIVE $311K STUDENT SERVICES $1.695M OPERATING REVENUES $13.577M OPERATING EXPENSES $13.577M
FINANCIAL UPDATE
GENERATIONS BOARD
As we look into the future for our family of alumni, now over 2700 grads, we’d like to introduce the St. James Academy Generations Board. This board, under the leadership of alumnus Ernie Rodriguez ‘09 as President, has been working over the past year to dream of more ways to connect our beloved alums to SJA. The group will be involved in reunion planning, fundraising efforts,
and more alumni events. We kicked off the school year with an awesome homecoming backyard tailgate at the family home of Annelise (2012) and Emily (2014) Feder, with alums attending from a wide variety of classes. We look forward to more events and exciting ways for the Generations Board to continue to serve St. James Alumni.
Board Members:
Ernie Rodriguez ’09, President
Bridget Ferrigan (Roszel) ’11, VP
Kim Feist (Peterson) ’09, Secretary
Annalise Feder ‘12
Luke Heller ‘18
Ben Maskus ‘13
Blake Nearmyer ‘12
Taylor Welding (Nill) ‘16
Ernie Rodriguez ’09, President
2023 Alumni Homecoming Backyard Tailgate
