In February 2009, the Church in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis began an intentional and comprehensive self-examination. The fruit of this work was the Strategic Plan announced by Archbishop John Nienstedt in October 2010, the main goal of which was “a revitalized and sustainable local Church, responsive to the needs of all of our brothers and sisters in Christ.”

The strategic plan called for an evaluation of our Catholic schools, which play an important role in the mission of the Church. The evaluation focused on the areas of Catholic Identity, governance, educational excellence, advancement, and funding.

As part of this evaluation of our schools, the leadership of St. Mary of the Lake and St. Pius X, along with representatives of the Archdiocese and experts in finance and demographics, began discussions to strengthen and grow Catholic education in the White Bear Lake area. Based on these discussions, the decision was made to consolidate St. Mary of the Lake and St. Pius X schools into a Catholic school for the White Bear Lake area with the goals of: stabilizing enrollment, while maintaining healthy class sizes; maximizing parish and parental investments in our schools; and combining the resources and traditions of two great Catholic schools and two faith-filled parishes to strengthen Catholic education in our community for the next generation of families.

Once the decision to create a regional school was announced in January 2013, the exciting work of forming that school began. Parents, parishioners and staff from both communities generously volunteered to work on committees that developed policies and procedures for the new school.

After consultation with both schools’ principals, administrators, and trustees, and after reviewing an assessment of the facilities prepared by an independent consultant, the pastors chose the St. Mary of the Lake Parish Center as the home for the new school.

Since the new school was a new and separate corporation, another important decision was to choose a name for the school. After work in the parishes and in the committees, a list of possible names was submitted to Archbishop Nienstedt. From that list, he chose Frassati Catholic Academy as the name for the new regional school (see below for a short history of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati).

Following site-selection and naming of the new school, a mission was defined. Frassati Catholic Academy is dedicated to educating students in a nurturing environment grounded in the Catholic Tradition, inspiring a love of learning, and empowering students to grow in faith while sharing their gifts for the common good.

A major program decision with that mission in mind was to adopt an educational strategy called STREAM, an acronym for Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts and Math.

The conversation about the STREAM program began back in August of 2013. The National Catholic Education Association initiated this learning model and a few STREAM schools have already been created across the country. The concept of STREAM grew out of the STEM and STEAM models in existence in public school systems, which have proven to be very effective models for integrated instruction.

In addition, Frassati partners with the White Bear Center for the Arts to teach offer students an art program of the highest quality. Local artists often visit our school to teach units of art in their area of expertise.

Mission

The Frassati Catholic Academy is dedicated to educating students in a nurturing and encouraging environment grounded in the Catholic Tradition, inspiring a love of learning, and empowering students to grow in faith while sharing their gifts for the common good.

Vision 

Frassati Catholic Academy provides an exceptional Catholic education to the children of today while inspiring them to be the virtuous leaders of tomorrow.

Philosophy

We believe in an education grounded in the Catholic Tradition

We empower students to develop a strong foundation in Christ.

We believe in Academic excellence

We provide a challenging learning environment based on the STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art and Math) program to prepare students for tomorrow’s world.

We believe in nurturing and encouraging environment

In partnership with families, we provide a safe, positive, and caring Catholic environment with clearly defined behavioral expectations.