Pop quiz: What’s the 3rd largest school district in Northern Kentucky?
The largest is Boone County (serving 20,000 kids), and the second largest is Kenton (serving 17,000 kids). It may surprise you to learn that the third largest school district in Northern Kentucky isn’t Campbell County. The third largest district, serving over 10,000 kids, is the Diocese of Covington.
Some of you may feel that was a trick question, because the Diocese of Covington isn’t a public school district. If you are one such person, I’d like to challenge your thinking, and ask you to reconsider our regional education offerings holistically.
The Diocese has 29 elementary schools, and 9 secondary schools in 6 Northern Kentucky counties.
Well known institutions like Newport Catholic, Covington Catholic, St. Mary’s, Covington Latin, Notre Dame Academy, and Villa Madonna, all fall under the Diocese of Covington.
As we talk about the issues of regionalism and education, it seems to me we often overlook the role the Diocese of Covington plays, and the positive impact they have on our collective lives.
With that thought in mind, I recently took a tour of Covington Latin, and was absolutely blown away by the school and the level of excellence.
It is right down the street from my office, so I’d driven by the school (adjacent to the Cathedral) countless times. But I never knew about the impact they have on our community.
Their impact is profound.
As I learned from Mr. Mo Woltering, Covington Latin’s Headmaster, and Tony Bonomoni, their Director of Advancement, Covington Latin has produced some amazing regional leaders since it opened in 1923.
Kris Knochelmann (Kenton County Judge Executive), Tyson Hermes (Mayor of Erlanger), and Chris McDaniel (KY State Senator) are all graduates of Covington Latin, just to name a few.
No matter where you live in the region, you probably aren’t far from a Covington Latin student, as the school brings students from all around Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati.
As Mr. Woltering explained, “Our students come from an array of educational backgrounds: 53% previously attended Catholic schools, 39% attended public schools, 5% were home-educated and 3% attended non-Catholic private schools. Students of color constitute nearly 14% of enrollment.”
It surprised me to learn that 32% of Covington Latin students are non-Catholic.
But what surprised me even more was the school’s commitment to an accelerated education for all their students.
You see, Covington Latin students are encouraged and expected to accelerate fifth, sixth and seventh grades in advance of their high school careers.
In fact, the school was founded on the belief that “academic ability should determine a student’s grade level, not merely age.”
Many students wind up graduating a full 2 years early from high school.
The school’s motto, in Latin, of course, is Bonitatem et disciplinam et scientiam, doce me. It means “Teach me goodness, discipline and knowledge.”
Whatever they are doing seems to be working. The average ACT score for Covington Latin graduates is a 29!
The school has been profiled in US News and World Report, and was ranked the #1 private school in Northern Kentucky by Cincinnati Magazine.
It truly is an amazing place, located at 11th and Madison in Covington. If you get a chance, swing by for a tour.
And if you run into any Diocese of Covington school officials, tell them “Thanks” for what they are doing. As much as any other organization in our region, they are working hard to make our community a great place to live, work, play and raise a family.
They are playing a large role and deserve some recognition.
Brent Cooper is founder and president of C-Forward, a Covington-based company. He is former chair of the Northern Kentucky Chamber and is currently a co-chair of the Northern Kentucky campaign for the United Way of Greater Cincinnati.
Great article Brent. Covington Latin is a true jewel in the heart of Covington.
They offer so many opportunities for their students.
The outreach they encourage is wonderful too.
My grandson did volunteer work at the emergency shelter. It was a perfect opportunity for him to experience services offered and what a gift it is to help those in need.
This school is highly is highly over-rated. It regularly turns out kids too emotionally and socially immature to succeed in college. Look into how many of them live at home and go to college at Thomas More or other local schools because they are to young to function on their own. The school is so small it has limited AP opportunities and very few extra-curricular activities that serve as anything more than resume builders. Yes, they have high test scores, however, I would suggest this is more a function of attracting smart kids, not because they provide exceptional teaching or unique opportunities.
Ms. Hargrave, while I certainly respect your opinion and do agree that sometimes Latin School graduates struggle socially and emotionally, I would say the same is true of some graduates of any institution, irrespective of the age at which they graduated. While many Latin School students do choose to attend institutions that are closer to home and to live with their parents, there are also plenty who go to college far from home, spend years abroad, and so forth. And the growing trend of attending college and continuing to live in the parent’s home is actually true of the entire millennial generation, not just Latin School students. There are some excellent sources out there for you to read more about that trend and why it is occurring. Just type “Millennials living at home” into Google.
In that same line of thought, the colleges and universities in the Greater Cincinnati area are not bad schools. Thomas more is an excellent institution for students who want to attend a small liberal arts school with a tight knit, religious community- a similar sort of community to CLS. It should be unsurprising that many grads of CLS gravitate towards a school with similar values and institutional culture. Xavier, UC, and NKU all have top-notch programs in certain disciplines and give the student the option not to bury him/herself in debt to attend college.
Latin School offers plenty of AP opportunities, 11 in total across the junior and senior year curricula. I know I graduated from Latin School with a full year of college credit due to the AP classes I took. Furthermore, the AP classes at Latin School are expertly taught by faculty and staff that care deeply about the academic, social, and spiritual success of each of their students. Unlike students at many other institutions, the majority of Latin School students pass their AP exams with high enough scores to merit college credit.
Latin School offers a host of extra-curricular activities that go far beyond simple resume building exercises. While I was there, I edited a state-wide newsletter, worked on the yearbook, earned state and national recognition for Latin oration, choir, and testing, collected and wrote for the student literary publication, the list goes on, but I will not bore you. There are plenty of opportunities to play sports as well, but that was not my cup of tea. While CLS does not have a football team, CLS does have nearly every other extra-curricular activity you would expect to find at a high school. And furthermore, if CLS does not offer an extra-curricular that a student has interest in and the drive to start up, it is easy to find a faculty member willing to advise a new student club or organization.
You are right, part of the academic success associated with a Latin School education is due to the quality of the students that school attracts, but you must not undervalue or underestimate the quality of the teaching that has occurred over the past 74 years in those hallowed halls. Go ask to audit a class of two if you do not believe me. Latin School attracts high quality students, yes, but it also attracts high quality faculty and staff.