St Laurence High School, Burbank, Illinois

Spotlight on Schools, 4

This is the next in a series of profiles of schools started in the educational tradition of Edmund Rice and his Brothers. Burbank (population 28 000) is in northeastern Illinois, at the southwestern edge of the city of Chicago, USA’s third-most-populous city. St Laurence’s mission statement describes it as “an all boy Catholic college preparatory high school rooted in the educational traditions of the Blessed Edmund Rice Christian Brothers where academic excellence and leadership are developed within a diverse community”.

St Laurence High School in the city of Burbank, Illinois, is celebrating its golden jubilee this year. The school is named after St Laurence O’Toole (Lorcán Ua Tuathail), an Irish saint who was born at Castledermot, Kildare, Ireland in 1128, and who died at Eu, Normandy, France on 14 November 1180. He was canonized in 1225 by Pope Honorius III.

Groundbreaking 50 years ago on a snowy April day in 1961

Founded in 1961, this Christian Brothers school has been serving young men living in the city of Chicago and its south and southwest suburbs for half a century. It sits in Cook County, the second most populous county in the United States. St Laurence has graduated nearly 14,000 men, and has a current student population of around 600.

Instilling in its students a strong desire for learning, enabling its students to face life’s challenges, as well as fostering Christian principles of service and commitment, St Laurence can boast about its stature in the community, its current highly honored student body, its tremendously dedicated faculty and staff, and its much-acclaimed group of alumni. The Home of the Vikings has been a traditional powerhouse in the Chicago Catholic League, one of the most competitive athletic conferences in the nation, winning 66 conference championships and numerous other accolades over the years.

Emphasis on leadership

Students with Auxiliary Bishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller at last year's Youth Ministry Leadership Awards Banquet

St Laurence prides itself on being the place “Where Leadership Begins”. The school places an emphasis on leadership through its leadership program. Its commitment to leadership is evident in its curriculum, in its opportunities for leadership development, in its position as the south campus for The Leadership Academy (a collaborative effort that offers leadership-training workshops to high school students), and its unmatched leadership facilities. The large sign that students see each day when they exit the building summarizes it best: “Leave as a Leader.”

At St Laurence, leadership takes many forms. To begin their training in leadership, all freshmen and sophomores are given the opportunity to participate in team training activities at Irons Oaks Adventure Center in nearby Olympia Fields. They learn how to function in groups, to interact with their classmates outside their classroom setting, and about achieving their goals.

Our recent Alumni Art Show brought together Alumni artists to show off their work

One program aspect of which we are most proud is that all juniors are offered the opportunity to attend an intensive workshop conducted by the Executive Development Center of Bradley University. Our school is the only high school in the area that has this unique relationship with Bradley University in Peoria, IL. Our students learn to be effective leaders in the areas of action plans, understanding group dynamics, and effective leadership styles.

The annual Leadership Week highlights Laurence’s commitment to build leaders. The week begins with a nationally-known speaker addressing the school community. Different activities highlight various aspects of leadership, and the week concludes with an all-school gathering honoring leaders within the St Laurence school family.

The future

The Rocket Club shows off their entry before leaving for last year's national competition near Washington DC

The school feels it is well placed to face the challenges of the future. It will continue to diligently upgrade its technology and facilities to ensure it is in the forefront of education. Modeling the life of Edmund Rice and practising the Essential Elements of a Christian Brother Education (2006), St Laurence is excited about its future, and its role in educating young men of Chicagoland for years to come.

For more information, please visit our extensive website, www.stlaurence.com or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. The Essential Elements statement mentioned above can be found on St Laurence’s website.

Ed Kozak

Office of Institutional Advancement – St Laurence High School

published July 2011