Anchorage’s nationally recognized K-12 Holy Rosary Academy began this school year at a new facility and celebrated the milestone with an Aug. 19 ribbon-cutting featuring U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan as guest speaker.
The Aug. 19 event marked the school’s move to a much larger campus formerly occupied by a public charter school – Rilke Schule – on East 64th Ave. Honored guests included representatives of Anchorage Mayor LaFrance’s administration, as well as Kathleen McArdle, President and CEO of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. Families, alumni, donors, and community leaders attended, including Anchorage’s former mayor Dave Bronson, representatives of the University of Alaska, Anchorage and the Knights of Columbus.
Founded four decades ago by a group of homeschooling families, Holy Rosary is now a nationally acclaimed classics-based school that serves students from all faiths. It is widely regarded as one of Alaska’s most prestigious schools with graduates attending top-tier colleges and universities across the country.
The school fosters traditional Catholic faith and morals while providing a rigorous classics-based education rooted in Greek, Latin, church history and the Western canon. Parents are typically drawn to the strong academics and emphasis on traditional religious and family values. Controversial topics such as critical race theory, LGBTQ politics and other issues plaguing many of Alaska’s public schools have no place at Holy Rosary.
At the recent ribbon-cutting, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Jim Dixon characterized the occasion as an opportunity to “re-dedicate Holy Rosary Academy to the sacred core of our mission statement: assisting parents – the primary educators of their children – by forming students in faith, reason, and virtue through classical education in the Roman Catholic Tradition.”
With 170 students enrolled and growing interest in classical education nationwide, Dixon said the school is stepping into a future in which “transformative Classical education can reach more families, touch more young lives, and send forth men and women of character with wisdom, courage, and competency into Alaska and the world.”
Senator Sullivan, a lifelong Catholic and self-described “product of Catholic schools,” identified Holy Rosary Academy as “one of the most important” educational institutions in Alaska.
“From humble beginnings and for nearly four decades, Holy Rosary Academy has shaped generations of Alaskans from kindergarten through high school, providing a strong foundation rooted in faith, reason, virtue, and service,” He said.
The senator spoke directly to the benefits of the new campus which will “enable the academy to deepen its impact, continuing to nurture students through prayer, education, the pursuit of truth and character development.
He noted that the ability to increase enrollment, build a new gymnasium, create a more sustainable facility, and enhance modern security represents an exciting opportunity for the school, which is located on a four-acre lot.
Senator Sullivan also paid tribute to the tenacity of HRA, calling it “a cornerstone of resiliency here in Anchorage.”
“Schools like this do more than educate; they anchor communities, they bring families together, they help us create bonds that anchor us here at home through difficult seasons,” he said. “This school is part of a proud tradition of indispensable Catholic schools across the country, serving parents and families who want more out of an educational opportunity for their children. A place where Christian unity isn’t scorned. Where leadership and character are forged. Classical education is so important, not just in Alaska, but throughout America. That is one of the many reasons this expansion is so exciting.”
