Enrollment Director Message

My name is Laurie Dougherty and I am fortunate to be the Enrollment Director for Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools. I taught at Heelan High School for 35 years before moving to enrollment. I love offering tours, setting up student shadow days, interacting with new families, and checking in after a new transfer student has enrolled.

We describe our schools as providing a lifetime advantage: We are Christ-centered. We begin and end our day in prayer in all of our school buildings. During every school day of learning, we are actively living out our faith. As a teacher in the classroom, I saw this every day. I saw acts of kindness, volunteers to help, and students dealing gracefully with challenges.

Our kids are not perfect, they face the same pressures and issue as other students; but in our schools you will find faith infused in our actions and an environment that demonstrates concern for others and the world.

I can share impressive school statistics and test scores, but the bottom line is that Bishop Heelan Schools are teaching our children virtues that will transcend this life and carry them into the next.

While there are bigger and fancier school buildings in our area, I don’t think you’ll find any that are filled with more dedicated faculty, committed parents and families, and guided by a mission focused on educating young students at a high level and putting them on a path to become faith-filled leaders in this world.

Families in Iowa will now have an opportunity to make Catholic education more affordable with Iowa’s Education Savings Accounts. It’s so new we are not sure how it will all play out. But we have great leadership in place and are excited about new opportunities. Our voices, experiences and data we collect are all proof of the good work we do with students entrusted to us by their parents.

If you are a parent with children in our schools we are delighted you are part of our school family. If you are considering one or more of our schools to help your child grow in academic and spiritual formation, I am here to help! Contact any one of our outstanding school Principals at Bishop Heelan High School, Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, or our Cathedral Dual Language Academy.

Or contact me at [email protected] or 712-226-0416.