Fr. Don Vettese, SJ and Richard Nye stand outside the International Samartian's headquarters in Ann Arbor. Nye and Fr. Vettese are seeking to open a physical location for Veritas Christi High School, a Catholic school for special-needs students.Kelly Luttinen | Special to The Michigan Catholic
Pittsfield Township — An online Catholic high school for special-needs students hopes to open a brick-and-mortar campus near Ann Arbor soon, and when it does, organizers are confident it will be filling a need that’s long existed.
The group behind Veritas Christi High School has been offering education for special-needs students online since 2011, and plans to open a facility serving seventh through 12th grade in an existing building in Pittsfield Township.
The group has long sought to open a physical location, which would be the first Catholic high school in the nation devoted entirely to special-needs students, and with the help of benefactors such as Karen Mersino, that dream could soon become a reality.
“Special-needs students require something that most schools cannot provide,” said Mersino, director of Davison-based Mersino Inc., which provides groundwater control and pumping solutions. “It is our history as Catholics to educate all God’s children, and Veritas Christi is reaching those that have not been served.”
Richard Nye, co-founder of the school, and Fr. Don Vettese, SJ, one of its board members, believe Veritas Christi is providing a valuable service to families with special-needs students, and opening a physical location would provide even more benefits. To do so, Fr. Vettese said Veritas Christi needs many more donors like Mersino, as well as volunteers who can help with fundraising efforts.
“We realize what we are doing is very expensive,” said Fr. Vettese, whose “day job” involves overseeing International Samaritan, a charitable organization serving the poorest of the poor around the world. “Miracles happen, and we are looking for some angels,” he said.
Veritas Christi is enrolling students for its online program this fall, with the goal of opening their facility in Pittsfield Township mid-school year in January 2016. School organizers have identified an available lease in a building shared by another business they say is in “move-in” condition. The school would use the back half, about 10,000 square feet.
“From the feedback we received, a brick-and-mortar facility would be our best option,” Nye said. “Then we can offer classroom instruction with a face-to-face teacher and an aide, and 8 to 10 students per class.”
Chip and Maureen Clearwater hug their daughter, Olivia, who is enrolled in Veritas Christi's online courses. "Veritas Christi will provide our daughter with what she needs to be successful spiritually, academically, and emotionally, " Chip Clearwater told The Michigan Catholic.Organizers plan to employ experienced, certified, special-needs Catholic teachers, with a pay scale comparable to that of public schools, Nye said.
Even if the new location becomes a reality, Fr. Vettese said the Veritas Christi program is not just for local families.
“We’ve done our homework, and we are hoping to create a model that can be duplicated elsewhere,” he said.
Veritas Christi’s online curriculum, which offers classes in core academics and religion, is supplied by Apex Learning and the Jesuit Virtual Learning Academy. Classes are offered in two programs, one for college-bound students, and one focusing on a high school diploma. Currently, about 10 students are expected to be enrolled this fall.
Nye said the appropriate program is determined during the application process, when each student’s challenges and strengths are assessed. After graduation, Veritas Christi remains in contact with its students, helping them get into college or vocational school.
“We don’t just say congratulations, goodbye and good luck,” Nye said.
In the future, the school is also looking at adding a boarding program, he said.
The cost to educate a student at Veritas Christi is estimated at $33,000, but Nye said the school offers a need-based fee scale, and is hoping to secure scholarships to further offset expenses.
“We are planning to cover costs now with donations, but our goal in five years is to have the tuition payments cover 80 percent of the costs.”
Michelle Minardi, who lives in the Cincinnati area, is considering enrolling her 16-year-old daughter, Abbie, into an online religion class offered through Veritas Christi this fall.
“When you have a child with special needs, it doesn’t always work out to send them to the local parish school or religious education program,” Minardi said. “There is definitely a need out there for a school like Veritas Christi.”
Fr. Vettese noted that Pope Francis has called on Catholics to go out and help the marginalized, which Veritas Christi seeks to do. “And special needs children are marginalized,” he said.
Nye said he frequently receives calls from parents frustrated with the lack of educational options for their special-needs children.
“These parents are like no other,” Nye said. “They have had to become the best advocates for their kids. By the time they get to me, they are frustrated and so happy to find us.”
Veritas Christi
To donate to efforts to open a brick-and-mortar location for Veritas Christi High School, visit the school’s website at www.veritaschristi.com.
A special welcome for Pope Francis
The founders of Veritas Christi are organizing an event to create a video message from those with special needs for Pope Francis, who will be in Philadelphia this September for the World Meeting of Families. Taping for the video will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 29 at the headquarters of the International Samaritan organization at 803 North Main St., Ann Arbor. For more information, contact Richard Nye at (734) 645-1643.
