Friday Feature: Detroit Catholic Central High School

Colleen Hroncich

Given the focus on unconventional education, the Friday Feature often highlights newer educational entities such as microschools and hybrid schools. But traditional schools can also be places where exciting things happen. Detroit Catholic Central High School is a good example of that.

Founded in 1928, Catholic Central is an all-boys school that has weathered the ups and downs of Catholic education in America with remarkable resiliency. DCC began this school year with 90 more students enrolled than graduated last spring; with 1,010 young men enrolled this year, they are the largest private high school in Michigan.

According to Director of Admissions Jake Marmul, “We are blessed to have many things going well for our school, and success attracts more success. Catholic Central offers a holistic environment where every young man, regardless of his interests, can pursue excellence.”

DCC’s size, Jake says, makes it “large enough to offer exceptional experiences and facilities, yet small enough to nurture strong relationships.”

Among these facilities is the new George and Mary Turek Hall of Science. Opened earlier this month, this state-of-the-art complex features a 57,000-square-foot STEM center, programs in space exploration and aviation—including a working flight simulator—and a 5,300-square-foot robotics arena.

Jake’s enthusiasm about the new Hall of Science is palpable. “The Hall of Science has already led to increased student enrollment in STEM electives and stronger community partnerships,” he says. “Our aviation program uniquely positions Catholic Central as a leading pipeline for future pilots across the nation, our robotics space and machine shop allow students interested in engineering and machining to gain hands-on experience, and our partnership with NASA allows our students to access their resources and contribute data from in-class experiments, allowing them to see the impact science can have in the real world.”

DCC plans to share these resources with the entire Southeast Michigan region. By partnering with local food banks, students are growing and donating crops—potentially adding an entire second growing season for local farms. The school continues to strengthen collaborations with other local school and community groups, such as organizations that work with at-risk women as well as local scout groups. These programs allow current and future students to follow the school’s long tradition of serving others.

Recognizing the importance of this community involvement, Jake says, “We plan to host star-gazing parties to introduce children to the wonders of space and inspire them to dream big for their future. While our students benefit from these facilities daily, our goal is for the broader community to also recognize Catholic Central as a tremendous resource.”

As DCC strives to inspire students to embrace lifelong learning and growth, they know the importance of modeling it within the school. While traditions are a cornerstone of their identity, they recognize that simply following established practices for tradition’s sake is a backward approach.

The school recognizes the need to blend tradition and evolution, as shown with their annual tuition assistance DRIVE. What started more than 80 years ago as a simple fundraiser has evolved into a 10-day celebration of young men, complete with daily school assemblies, skits, contests, costumes, decorations, and more. Last year students raised nearly $900,000 for the school’s tuition assistance fund.

From Jake’s perspective, “At Catholic Central, we believe that if we have the ability to do something better for our students, we have the responsibility to do so. This principle drives us to continually assess and enhance what we offer. Our ‘why’ is the young men in our building, and our mission to teach them goodness, discipline, and knowledge. We firmly believe that the young men who matriculate from our school can and will make this world a better place.”