Barat Academy offering scholarships

by Barbara Watkins, Review Staff Writer
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Barat Academy, the newest Catholic high school in the archdiocese, has $500,000 in scholarships available to eligible students for the 2008-2009 school year.

Barat Academy opened last fall in Dardenne Prairie in West St. Charles County. It is a private independent college preparatory school offering single-gender education to boys and girls modeled in the traditions of Sacred Heart education.

The scholarships are part of the newly established St. Madeleine Sophie Barat Fund, named after the foundress of the Society of the Sacred Heart for whom the school is named.

"This is a very exciting opportunity for us as a new school," said Debby Watson, president of Barat Academy.

"The scholarships are meritbased," she said. "And we have increased our financial aid potential.

Our board has committed that we will meet 100 percent of the demonstrated financial need of any student who qualifies — judged on academic standards, college-bound students with good marks and citizenship."

In its first year, Barat Academy had only a freshman class.

A new freshman class will be added each year for the next three years, so that by 2010 the school will have freshmen through seniors.

Last year an anonymous donor came forward to provide full tuition — at a cost of $11,000 a student — for the first 150 students in the freshman class.

"Only 83 students qualified, so we asked if we could commit the rest of that original donation into a scholarship fund. And the donor agreed," Watson said.

There are six scholarships, each with multiple award recipients, with criteria ranging from academics to leadership and faith. Awards will range from $500 to $7,500.

"We have openings in both freshman and sophomore classes for the fall," Watson said. "We have about 120 registered so far and hope to increase it to 160, so we are taking additional qualified students in both grades."

In addition to academic excellence Barat Academy offers a full range of athletic programs, Watson said. Ground-breaking is scheduled for Monday, June 23, on a new stadium that includes an eight-lane track and synthetic turf field.

"After our first year, the students and the families we have been able to serve have far surpassed any expectations we ever had. We are living St. Madeleine Sophie’s vision in St. Charles County," Watson said.

Source: St Louis Review