School Overview
Guerin Catholic is located on seventy acres in the heart of Hamilton County in Central Indiana. The school was founded in 2004, and has been consistently recognized as one of the Top Catholic high schools in the United States.
Guerin Catholic is an open enrollment, diocesan, college preparatory school that offers students the opportunity to lead and serve others, to challenge themselves with a rigorous academic program, and to be formed in their faith. Our faithfulness to the teachings of the Catholic Church prepare our students to not only contribute positively to the colleges and universities they attend, but equipped to be the salt of the earth and the light to the world.
Structure
As a diocesan Catholic high school, Guerin Catholic is part of the official Church structure. The school is under the control of our diocesan bishop, Timothy L. Doherty, who serves as chairman of the Corporate Board. This means Bishop Doherty and his successors have ultimate authority over the school’s operations. Priests are appointed by the bishop to teach, to celebrate the sacraments and to ensure an authentic Catholic identity. Priests also provide for us physical icons of Jesus’ Priesthood in our school. The structure also includes the pastors of area diocesan parishes. Some serve on the Guerin Catholic School Governing Board with lay members from diocesan parishes. This structure assures priest involvement and oversight regarding living the Catholic identity and values that are intrinsic to our mission.
Philosophy of Education
Guerin Catholic High School is committed to offering courses inspired and taught from a Catholic world view, based on the Christian concept of the human person, and in communion with the Magisterium of the Church. Guerin Catholic students will be exposed to a rigorous liberal arts curriculum that stretches them beyond what they believed possible to prepare them for college and life.
Academic Focus
The main message at Guerin Catholic is that students should challenge themselves appropriately in order to develop their God-given potential. The administration at Guerin Catholic encourages parents and students to work with the faculty in determining classes that are appropriate for the students, yet also encourage them to achieve more than they thought possible.
100% of the student body participates in the IB program during junior and senior year in order to meet the graduation pathway for college readiness. The most important academic goal of Guerin Catholic is that all students are properly prepared for success in college studies.
Teaching
A school is a place of teaching and learning. As a diocesan Catholic high school, the teaching and learning–in fact the overall environment and culture–is shaped by the teachings of Christ as given to us by official Catholic Church teaching. Our staff and faculty work as ministers of the Church. Vatican documents–including, but not limited to, the Declaration on Christian Education, The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, The Catholic School–provide direction to administration, faculty, and staff on how they are to approach their education ministries. All subject areas and extra-curricular activities emphasize Catholic principles of living a Sacramental life, the dignity of the human person, moral responsibility, valuing faith and reason, and the role of the family and social teachings. As a diocesan high school, our teaching flows from the Magisterium, which is the official teaching office of the Church.
Curriculum
The academic calendar is organized on a trimester schedule, with three 12-week terms in each school year. A comprehensive liberal arts curriculum of 110+ courses emphasizes preparation for college. In addition to offering the Indiana Core 40 Diploma, Guerin Catholic also offers the Indiana Academic Honors Diploma and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
Leadership
Guerin Catholic places much emphasis on leadership. Our Campus Ministry program, which focuses heavily on leadership, strives to help students become involved in their community. Each student at Guerin Catholic is required to perform 30 hours of service per year; full IB diploma students are required to fulfill 150 hours over two years. The Class of 2024 completed over 27,000 hours of community service globally, regionally and locally over a four-year period.
Community
The community of Guerin Catholic includes more than our students, families and staff. The Guerin Catholic community includes our diocesan parishes. Our mission is to serve the parishes in the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana. This means much more than accepting students from these parishes and providing them a Catholic education. Our school community is part of the parish communities. Practically speaking, this means we host parish or deanery events, speakers, and workshops. In terms of education, the principals and teachers from parish schools meet to align curriculum, share best practices, and coordinate the matriculation of students from elementary Catholic schools and parish religious education programs. We work with parish youth ministers to coordinate retreat programs and encourage Guerin Catholic students to participate in parish youth ministry. The Guerin Catholic community includes the communities of our diocesan parishes.