Dear Crusader Families & Friends,

Like all of you, the normal rhythms and events associated with the transition from spring to summer are markedly different this year for Brother Rice High School.  We closed school on March 16, as a national pandemic spread and concluded the semester remotely.  We felt the impact of civil unrest across our country combined with a call to address racism and work toward social justice for all.  I am proud to say our school community has responded strongly and positively to our new environment!

Led by Mr. Bob Alberts, Principal, we are committed to returning students to classrooms when school begins again on August 19.  We have three scenarios: our primary solutions are an alternate day strategy (combining on-campus presence with synchronous eLearning), followed by returning all students to campus; in addition, we will have the ability to go 100% remote if required due to an outbreak of COVID-19 or Illinois Public Health guidelines.  For our current and incoming student families, you’ll continue to receive updates on our plans as we move through the summer.

We have formed a Diversity and Racial Equity work group that is answering the call to reduce and eliminate racism. Events of 2020 have been a catalyst not only for our country but also for schools and communities like Brother Rice.  Our work to date has identified three areas we will focus on immediately.  These include our BRHS school and community culture, our curriculum, and student engagement.  As we move forward, we will share more details.

The Class of 2020 seniors will graduate on Sunday, July 12.  Graduation will take place in the Brother Rice High School courtyard.  We will have a staggered start time program over the course of several hours for our graduates.  This will allow our seniors to individually receive their diplomas, accompanied by family members and greeted by our faculty as they arrive and move through school to a diploma awarded by Mr. Alberts and I.  Details about the event can be found on our website by clicking here.

Our capital improvements continue at Brother Rice!  I am pleased to share we have revised and enhanced  our STEM engineering classroom and an athletic locker room already.  On a larger scale, we will shortly begin the process of completely resurfacing our athletic field.  We are also enhancing and refreshing our school chapel to not only expand capacity but also provide a stronger presence in our school.  We are proud of and adhere to our Catholic heritage and believe this will be reflected in our chapel improvement activities.

Thank you for your support, be it financial,  spiritual, or otherwise.  Our mission here at Brother remains unchanged.  We are excited about both the challenges we face and the opportunities we have to live in alignment with our faith and the Essential Elements of a Brother Rice education.

Be well, and stay healthy!

Mark Donahue

President

Brother Rice High School