An Education in Service of Others
By Ben Kleier, literature teacher and communications assistant
Paul and Linda Weckenbrock are a committed Catholic couple who have served as pillars of parochial life in Cincinnati and in Dea
rborn County. As early adopters of homeschooling, observers of the educational system, and involved parishioners at All Saints Parish in Dearborn County, they were a couple who could offer important insight and support as members of Fiat Classical Academy’s Advisory Team.
Paul and Linda had not intended to homeschool their children. After a school program was introduced in their children’s school that was contrary to Catholic teaching, they paid more attention to the inconsistencies between the Catholic faith, the standard education system, and what the purpose of education was for their children.
They then decided to homeschool their children. When they started homeschooling in the 1980s, they only knew two other Catholic families who had made that same decision, yet, the decision to homeschool and involve themselves in their children’s education yielded immediate fruit.
As the primary educators of their children, they were able to integrate the faith into the other subjects that their children learned. Similarly at Fiat, parents partner with faculty to help educate their sons and daughters and form them into faithful Catholic men and women.
Now that Paul and Linda Weckenbrock are grandparents, they have witnessed this blossoming of family in the lives of their grandchildren. As they witnessed other families stop practicing their faith, Paul and Linda found that their close family life and integration of faith and learning kept their children and grandchildren involved in their faith community.
That is what Paul and Linda have helped shape as Advisory Team members at Fiat. “I like the idea of how they [Fiat] intertwine the faith throughout the curriculum and that is of primary importance and is encouraging. I hope it will have a long lasting effect,” said Paul. This mark of the school has already impacted their four grandchildren who are students at Fiat. Both Paul and Linda have noticed their grandchildren have transformed and matured as faithful young Catholics during their time at FCA. They are able to incorporate their faith into all parts of the school day, praying with their friends, classmates, and teachers. They connect what they are learning in each class to their spiritual lives, to contemplating our Creator, and learning about the history and life of the Church.
As members of All Saints Parish in Dearborn County, Paul and Linda see how their grandchildren are able to share their experience at Fiat Classical Academy within the life of the parish. All Saints Parish has a large youth group for freshmen through seniors in high school.
“The kids really respect and love each other and their mission trip this year was a local mission doing different things for neighbors such as power washing and improving people’s homes and yards, and they were all enthused about doing that. This was their week off of school and yet they were happy to volunteer to help. Many of the Fiat kids participated. This was pretty impressive for us older folks to watch. And they are bringing what they are getting in the school into their encounters with their fellow teenagers,” shared Paul.
Fiat is able to support this mission in a unique way. The faith goes beyond the classroom. During their bimonthly Adamello Days, students go out, discover, and explore different experiences and integrate their faith and education. It opens up their minds.
Paul and Linda also saw that Fiat fulfilled a need in the community. “[Fiat] is filling a gap in Catholic education opportunities for families in Southeastern Indiana as a more attainable and local option,” said Paul. Many families in the area have had to look to high schools outside of Dearborn county in order to receive a Catholic education. Linda observed, “I’m looking at the future of our education system and what’s available for our children. What we have been seeing is not good. Catholic education is so expensive that it’s out of reach of most people. It was good to see more local options.”
Besides its Catholic identity, the Weckenbrocks were compelled by Fiat’s classical approach. “The means of Classical education is going to develop that person to be readily engaged in the society around them. It’s all a plus,” continued Paul.
Both Paul and Linda agreed to serve on the Advisory Team long before their grandchildren enrolled. They see Fiat as an integration of faith and community. To them, supporting Fiat is supporting the future of the Church. “The graduates of Fiat are going to benefit our parish and community because of their interest in and their engagement in their community and things that are happening locally. They [Fiat] are trying to facilitate kids being engaged,” said Paul. Fiat is fully committed not just to educating students, but preparing students for engaging their parish, their community, and the world.
Fiat is thrilled to have these pillars of the community as members of its Advisory Team. Paul and Linda exemplify how a life of service yields fruit for the whole community. Their grandchildren at Fiat, following the steps of their grandparents, are quickly becoming pillars of their classes and school. They are preparing for a life beyond the walls of Fiat Classical Academy.