Dove Our Pillar of Strength Our Pillar of Strength - St. Scholastica ...

WOMAN OF COURAGE
By: Mary Kathryn Villere
Marguerite S. Celestin began as principal of St. Scholastica Academy in
1979. For the past three years she has been president of the Academy.
Under her direction, the school received its first SACS accreditation and
became a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, shortly thereafter.
Marguerite initiated the concept of strategic planning at SSA in 1992.
Since then the school has completed two plans and is currently finishing
its third plan. Each plan is a vision for the next five years with respect to
the direction of every aspect of the total school program.
Marguerite is responsible for research into and implementation of the 4 x
4 block schedule. As a result of implementing this innovative schedule,
our students are able to take more required courses as well as electives,
graduating with 36 credits instead of 32. Alumnae return to us to let
us know how much being on the 4 x 4 has prepared them for the college
experience, both because of the [compressed course time] as well as the
expanded elective program.
During Marguerite’s tenure as head of SSA, two brand new state-of-the-art
classroom buildings have been built with a science wing in one of the
buildings. A master site plan has been developed, giving direction to the
building program. Ground breaking for a new chapel will begin this
school year, giving rise to a dream of Marguerite’s of many, many years.
Two new classroom/administrative buildings, replacing the 20’s, 30’s, and
the old science labs are on the horizon to give the students of today a
facility that will be second to none. It is amazing that a school once
threatened with closure having only 180 students would become one of the
premier educational institutions for young women in this region. The
school’s ability to remain open is directly due to Marguerite Celestin – her
tenacity in her belief that St. Scholastica Academy must remain open and
a vibrant educational opportunity for Catholic/Christian young women.
In all of this Marguerite has remained not only true to the school’s
mission, but steadfast in her determination that the Benedictine legacy
of prayer, work, study, and community be embraced by the entire school
community and become a known entity throughout the entire civil
community as well. Our Benedictine heritage is what the school stands
for; it is what the girls learn as they go through our educational program;
it is what they tell us they remember as alums. Those graphic, monolithic
pillars at the school’s entrance proudly proclaim this to everyone.
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