RSSPrinciples in practice
Community involvement is major part of curriculum at La Salle High Schoolfor the Yakima Herald-Republic
La Salle students wait to be put in order for the tenth anniversary picture in front of the chapel.
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Students mill around classrooms, talking with friends, finishing last-minute details on homework, or just rushing in after a quick trip to their lockers.
Suddenly, the high-pitched beep of the bell sends everyone to their seats. Seconds later, a voice comes over the intercom: "Good morning La Salle! Let us remember ... "
And all the students reply: "That we are in the holy presence of God."
This is the start of a typical day at La Salle High School in Union Gap, a Catholic school run by the De La Salle Christian Brothers.
This is a special year for the Yakima Valley's only Catholic high school. La Salle is celebrating its 10th year here.
After a decade, the school has made a few changes, including location and size. But its values have stayed the same.
La Salle aims to provide "not only a quality academic education, but a real human and Christian education," says 48-year-old Brother James Joost, principal of La Salle.
Part of this education comes from the many opportunities for service that the school offers. Students provide assistance to the community through labor, teaching and service. They also go on spiritual retreats.
And each school year, groups of students travel to Seattle, Mexico, the Yakama Indian reservation and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana for service immersions.
"Service is co-curricular," Joost says.
And living out faith and education at the same time is "central to the makeup of the school."
La Salle carries on a longstanding Catholic school tradition in the Valley, with several Catholic high schools preceding it. The most recent, Carroll High School, closed in 1986.
About 10 years later, in the mid-1990s, a group of parents, including 54-year-old Tim McGree, the current president of La Salle, decided to pursue the prospect of bringing a Catholic high school back to Yakima.
When they asked Cardinal Francis George, then the bishop of the Diocese of Yakima, for support, they ran into two obstacles. The parents had to determine if there was a demand for a Catholic high school. They also had to secure a financial endowment.
The solution lay in the De La Salle Christian Brothers.
With the prospect of the Brothers opening a school, George withdrew the need for a financial endowment, because he believed the Christian Brothers' sponsorship would make the school a success.
According to McGree, the Brothers saw La Salle as a "mission waiting to happen."
School founders envisioned a safe environment for students to study and experience their own spiritual journeys. They also wanted the school to reflect the diversity of the Valley.
"We wanted it to be a place that taught students how to give back," McGree says. "It really met our visions and exceeded my expectations."
La Salle opened in a rented space connected to Holy Family Catholic Church, with only 55 students. Now, the school has a sprawling 40-acre campus in Union Gap, with three permanent buildings and about 200 students.
The fourth permanent building will be the new science center, currently under construction. The groundbreaking ceremony took place Sept. 2. The Gamache Science Center is expected to be finished early next year.
Founders envisioned a school with challenging academics for college preparation. And La Salle doesn't disappoint. More than 90 percent of La Salle graduates continue on to college. This year's entire graduating class was accepted to a college.
Being a private school, La Salle relies on tuition, donations and fundraisers. Forty percent of its students receive some sort of financial aid or scholarships.
La Salle has also found success in sports, winning several state titles over the years. But its main focus is academics and service.
Students are reminded of this every time they see one of the large banners, proclaiming the school motto: "Enter to learn, leave to serve."
La Salle "is a gift to us and a gift to the students," McGree says.
And this gift will continue to give, to its students and the community.
* Unleashed reporter Libby Young is a sophomore at La Salle High School.
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