On their road to becoming educators

Rebecca: I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. When I was a kid, I ran a school out of the playhouse in our backyard during the summer. I had old Dick and Jane books, and I would teach the younger neighborhood kids. I graded them and gave them stickers. One of the girls actually learned to read from playing school with me. So, this is pretty much what I’ve always wanted to do.

Mark: I went to Marmion, and by the time I was in high school here, I knew I wanted to go into education. I come from a family of educators, so schools were always a familiar environment to me. By my freshman year of college, I knew I wanted to teach at the high school level. Having the opportunity to eventually come back to Marmion made it especially meaningful.

On what makes Marmion, Marmion

Rebecca: When I talk to people about Marmion, I come back to the fact that we really know our students. By October, we know the new kids by name. Your child is not going to get lost here. It’s like a big extended family.

Mark: For me, it’s what happens to students during their four years here. You see a freshman come in and then watch that transformation through senior year. They grow personally, but they also learn how to support each other. Do they always get along? No. But there’s a real sense that students are supported by their peers and by their teachers. That sense of community is something we talk about a lot, but it’s real.

On being ready for co-education

Rebecca: We’ve spent so much time preparing and talking about all the “what ifs” that sometimes you lose sight of the fact that we do a really good job here. We know how to welcome students. At some point, you just have to get started. I think we’re going to find out that we’re pretty good at this.

A lot of our faculty have already taught in coed environments. They know that world, and they know what it means to teach at Marmion. Now they get to bring those experiences together.

Mark: I love the start of a school year, and obviously this year there’s a whole new element. There’s been a tremendous amount of planning and work behind the scenes. But I’m with Rebecca. Let’s get going.

On what will not change

Rebecca: Marmion is all about relationships: student to student, student to faculty, faculty to faculty, and faculty to parent. That relationship building is going to continue.  The spirituality, leadership and academics all grow out of those relationships. That doesn’t change because of a student’s gender.

On forming young men and young women

Mark: One thing people have valued about an all-boys environment is that boys feel comfortable being themselves. We don’t want to lose that. We’re being very intentional about opportunities for our young men to continue to grow, while creating those same opportunities for our young women.

The Saint Benedict Brotherhood and Saint Scholastica Sisterhood give us an opportunity to lean even more intentionally into our Catholic and Benedictine identity. What does it mean to grow as a young man or young woman in a Catholic Benedictine environment?

Our single-gender community periods are part of that. And over the next year, three years and five years, we want to continue bringing those Benedictine elements into retreats, academics and other aspects of school life.

On the team behind the transition

Mark: The process has been energizing. There have been stressful moments and new questions, but it’s exciting to see all the different pieces come together. I’ve developed a new appreciation for what my colleagues do to keep the school moving forward.

Rebecca: Comparing a workplace to a family can sound like a cliché, but Marmion really does function that way. Families don’t agree all the time, and neither do we. But in the end, we have the same goal: We want the school to succeed and our students to have a great experience. You trust that we’re all headed in the same direction.

On what comes next

Mark: Once things get in motion and students are enjoying their time here and having success, people are going to see what this looks like.  There have been questions about whether Marmion will lose its identity. I think the best answer is to show people.

Rebecca: I really think this is just the beginning. The transition has been invigorating and has opened the door for people to share ideas and ask how we can do things even better. There are already ideas where we’ve said, “That’s probably something for next year.” In the end, I think this is going to make us a better school.