Dear Members of the Crusader Family,

Greetings from Brother Rice High School! On behalf of all of us, we hope the summer was enjoyable and safe for your family.  I am pleased to say we are off to a great start at Brother Rice. We have 100% of our students in school, and all activities and athletics have resumed this fall, despite the ongoing presence of our national pandemic.

I have a lot of good news to share with you, our Crusader family. First, as nearly all of you know, we have completed a significant portion of our North Campus Project, with the complete rebuild of our parking lot, along with sidewalks, signage, and landscaping.  I am thrilled to report that nearly all of the companies utilized on this project were either owned or operated by Brother Rice alumni. Their efforts to ensure a timely yet professional result exceeded all my expectations, and I think you’ll agree the results are terrific.

Despite the ongoing impact of our pandemic, your school leadership has adapted well.  I am happy to share that our enrollment is better than planned, and our admissions/recruitment staff has great momentum as we move forward this year.  Additionally, thanks to your Crusader Fund contributions, we were able to support our students with increased financial aid. Academically we performed beyond expectations, given the struggles of the Covid pandemic in our external environment.  Twenty-six percent of our seniors met the qualifications for being an Illinois State Scholar, a higher percentage than any Catholic high school on the south side of Chicago. Also, 74% of our seniors were offered either an academic or athletic scholarship. These are superior results! 

Our Heed The Call Campaign, a five-year $11 million effort, is well underway. Some of the initial school investments have included the following:

  • North Campus Project
  • Chapel refresh
  • Creation of an eSports room
  • Faculty lounge refresh
  • Athletic field resurfacing

Items next in our planning include the library conversion to a modern student center, cafeteria enhancement, a counseling center rebuild/enhancement, and individual room improvements.  Also, we plan to finish the North Campus Project with the repositioning of our baseball field combined with artificial turf.  We are completing a master plan for the school’s entire facility that will take us into the next decade.

This week we are excited to hold our first all-student mass in nearly 18 months. The second Essential Element of a Christian Brothers education is to “Proclaim & Witness to Catholic Identity.”  At the foundation of all our efforts and successes outlined above is our Catholic faith.  With the strength of our faith and the combination of academics, athletics, activities and clubs, our students leave with a strong moral compass ready to lead the way.

A great example of a moral compass is the recent action taken by our parent clubs in the creation of the Crusader Cares Fund.  This new fund will provide financial support for any student that loses a wage-earning parent during his time at Brother Rice for the duration of his time at our school.  This is a great example of how our community cares for one another, especially in times of need.  

 I am unabashedly enthusiastic about Brother Rice, our 2022 school year, and our future!  With your support, we will continue to sustain and grow our school community.  Thank you for all you do for Brother Rice High School.  

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