Lake Catholic High School in Ohio is a safe, affordable, and holistic private high school experience. We were fortunate enough to speak with Mark Crowley, an alumni parent and current President of the school.

Situated in safe, family-focused suburbs, a half-hour outside of Cleveland, Ohio, is the friendly green brick wall of Lake Catholic High School. Beyond the sophisticated exterior, the wide hallways, tall ceilings, and abundant resources tell one story — that you or your children will be at home there.

Established in 1970, Lake Catholic embodies the noble mission of encouraging mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being in its students, grades 9 to 12. A lot is expected of students — be a loving member of your community, succeed in education, grow into a happy young adult — and Lake Catholic provides the tools. They also boast the fourth most affordable tuition among Diocesan Catholic schools in Ohio, with the mission to make value-based education accessible to as many people as possible.

I had the pleasure of speaking with one of the key enforcers of this principle — the President of Lake Catholic, Mark Crowley, who sat down to give me a better idea of what Lake Catholic High School can offer its students. But Mark isn’t just the President; he’s a parent. All five of Mark’s sons attended Lake Catholic long before he became President of the school, giving him a holistic understanding of what makes the school so beneficial for students, parents, and staff alike. He feels that his most important role at Lake Catholic is ensuring the community culture; in fact, Lake Catholic is featured on a list of the Cleveland area top workplaces of 2020.

I first asked Mark how he came into the role of President. It started for him as a parent, being involved in running clubs while his kids were attending the high school. He got to know the faculty and community. Years later, Mark knew he wanted to work in education, and when the spot opened up at Lake Catholic he knew it was meant to be.

Speaking With Mark Crowley

When your kids were attending, what did they like the most?

“They were different in terms of the things they were involved in — two soccer players, two involved in basketball, and three in performing arts. One of those three was also involved in student government and campus ministry,” Mark says. Lake Catholic has a shocking number of extracurricular activities — over 60 options, including the school newspaper, yearbook, mock trial, sewing, a robotics team, musical productions, art club, and more. About his kids, Mark adds, “They had just a wonderful opportunity to explore themselves beyond the academics. And given the size of the school, you have a great opportunity to meet new friends. Life long friends.”

What do you think is the reason it’s easy to make life-long friends?

“It’s an important time in life,” Mark muses. “As you are finding yourself, you do that alongside your friends. I also think there is a sense of shared values in the school, the purpose, the reason you’re there.” He adds that while the friends you make don’t have to be involved in the same things you are, it is a great way to meet people, including in community events outside the school.

What is the experience that you want the students to have?

Mark begins by telling me that when he first became President, he spent time sitting with the superintendent and the board of directors asking this exact question. On that day, this phrase was born: “Discover yourself, your faith, your future, your purpose: become a member of the Lake Catholic Family.” This embodies the holistic experience the school aims to offer.

Lake Catholic is focused on building well-rounded people. “They come in here 13 or 14-year-old nervous boys and girls,” Mark explains, “and then in 4 short years they’re young men and women.”

That transformation is multi-faceted and is imperative to being part of the community. “We’re putting in front of [the students] opportunity; they’re then figuring out which opportunities they want to take advantage of. We try to lay all of that out for them, so they [can discover themselves].”

What will the living situation be like?

I learnt more than I expected to when I asked this question. I was curious about accommodations for international students — where would they live? Mark gave a wonderful answer.

“Our priority — and we’ve never had to look to any other options — has been to do homestays with our families. They are parents of either current students or recent alumni. They’re people who are connected to the school community, either presently or very recently, and they know the people and can be involved.”

This means that incoming international students will be able to stay with a like-minded family. Parents can rest assured that another parent, who knows Lake Catholic High School well, can take care of their children. The school also organizes the homestays themselves, and does not use an outside agency.

What else do you think parents should know about sending their kids to Lake Catholic?

“We’re in a nice position in terms of our location,” he says first, “because we are close to a major city — the fine and performing arts available in Cleveland are known around the world, and we have all the major sports teams. So you have that experience, but we’re about 25-30 minutes away from downtown in a suburb. It’s a nice, safe area, right on the lake, and there’s a lot of stuff in Lake county to experience.”

The second point he mentions is crucial for youth — the student-to-student community. “We have 500 students; it’s a good size, but it’s small enough that the community is welcoming,” he tells me. "One small example is in a [non-COVID] year, the [new] students come in a day or two before school starts to go through their schedule, meet their teachers, and walk through the halls before there’s a crowd of students.” In Lake Catholic’s tall and welcoming hallways, exploring is a must. “After lunch, [students] go to the gym and there’s a rally, with the marching band and cheerleaders. There’s a massive group of seniors — who were also in the hallways asking if students need help — teaching students the cheers and talking to them. It’s a great example of students helping students that continues through the school year.”

Mark also mentions Lake Catholic’s continuous mission to make an education with Catholic values as accessible as possible with low tuition costs. The tuition has not changed in years, and is not changing this year, either — you can see Mark’s letter from this year on the topic here.

Getting There

Parents may rest assured in sending their kids to Lake Catholic High School, confident that they will be supported in being the best that they can be (in every way). I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to speak with Mark — a pillar of Lake Catholic’s community — and learn about the values of the school’s family atmosphere.

Global Study Guide is proud to say that you can apply for Lake Catholic using our web platform. Please contact us at info@globalstudyguide.ca, whether you have questions or would like to apply. We can help you get sorted quickly and comfortably, well on the way to a rewarding education.