Our Lasallian Heritage
Our Community
Our Success
De La Salle Middle School is a small, faith-based, co-educational
school in St. Louis’ historic Ville neighborhood. Founded in 2001
by Bob Sweeny with assistance from the Christian Brothers of the
Midwest, De La Salle educates 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students
facing limited opportunities due to poverty and its complementary
issues: inadequate schooling, low expectations, and lack of strong
role models. Our neighborhood community experiences significant
rates of unemployment, teen pregnancy, infant mortality, and crime.
As a school founded on the San Miguel model and a member of the
NativityMiguel Network of Schools, De La Salle offers a holistic,
financially accessible, faith-based education to families living in the
Greater Ville community. Small class sizes (no more than twenty
students per grade level) and a year-round school calendar form the
centerpiece to an education that addresses the academic, physical,
social, emotional, moral, and spiritual needs of students. This type
of education, for students and educators alike, can be a daunting
task and would not be possible without the full the support of students’
families. The staff and administration at De La Salle encourage families to be involved in their child’s academic success. Further, a De La Salle education does not end when a student graduates from the eighth grade. A Graduate Support Program provides high school and college counseling support to all De La Salle graduates.
De La Salle is committed to continuing this unique type of education because we believe it makes a difference in the lives of students. It is a privilege and responsibility that we do not take lightly. Consequently, our administrative structure and impassioned Board of Directors is dedicated to pursuing De La Salle’s mission of making a quality education available to at-risk students in a financially and academically sustainable manner that ensures the stability of our school and its mission. Accredited by the Missouri Nonpublic School Accrediting Association and challenged by our collegial relationship with sixty-four NativityMiguel schools across the nation, the principal and staff continue to reflect and improve upon the vitality and relevance of the education offered to students at De La Salle.
Our school community is rooted in Lasallian spirituality. We begin each day with our morning assembly with the invocation echoed throughout Lasallian schools, “Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God.” These words take flesh in the hard work offered by both teachers and staff throughout the school day. Reflecting on the distinctly Lasallian character of our school, staff recognize that the work of education is rooted in a Gospel assertion that all people deserve the opportunity to flourish, especially those at risk of being denied that opportunity or marginalized. Inspired by St. John Baptist de la Salle’s vision of a community animated by Christian faith and zeal for "the salvation of souls,” our dedicated staff empowers students through a contagious passion for excellence and compassion. Teachers at De La Salle work together, offering one another advice and support, providing an education focused on students’ academic, social, and spiritual development. In turn, students and their families participate as co-equal members in this endeavor bringing a sense of accountability and responsibility into the school community. Approaching the education of urban, at risk youth through a Lasallian spirituality has proven to us that creating and sustaining respectful human relationships in community is the only way to effectively provide a meaningful, transformative, liberating, and empowering education. St. Louis is a city historically comprised of unique, interconnected neighborhoods. The Ville Neighborhood has a particularly prominent place in St. Louis’ past as one of the city’s most vibrant African-American communities. Homer G. Philips Hospital, situated in the geographical center of the neighborhood, was the first African-American teaching hospital in the nation. Annie Malone Children’s Home has also been a mainstay in the Ville for over eighty years.With this legacy in mind, De La Salle, in conjunction with St. Matthew’s Parish and other neighborhood institutions, remains committed to partnering with families who make their homes in this distinct community. Structural violence in the form of disparate educational and employment opportunities, unjust housing policy, a century of strained race relations, and poor individual choices have all taken their toll on the Greater Ville neighborhood. We are fortunate to partner with our neighbors in building and sustaining a community founded on pride, mutual respect, and prosperity.
The San Miguel model and a Lasallian commitment to teaching combine for a successful and affirming experience for De La Salle students. Numbers tell part of the story: we have graduated 8 classes and 112 students; we have 58 graduates in high school; our graduates have a 96% graduation rate from high school (as compared to the 2011 neighborhood high school graduation rate of 47%); and 58% of our graduates pursue higher education at a 2 or 4-year college. Equally telling, however, is the sentiment expressed in the closing line from the prayer that staff and students recite at the end of the day: “I am somebody. Respect me, protect me, and never neglect me." Middle school students leave De La Salle not only with core skills they have learned from talented educators, but with immeasurable self-confidence and determination, poised to become agents of change in their own lives and communities.
