St. Bernard Prep School in Cullman invites families interested in attending St. Bernard to a day-long open house, giving prospective students and their parents a firsthand look at the school’s academic programs, instructors, facilities, and more. On Friday, Oct. 22, families will have the opportunity to tour the campus and classrooms with student ambassadors and get a real feel for the school day and the campus itself.

Getting visitors on campus seals the deal for most families who are looking into private school. Admissions Director Father Linus Kluscarits, O.S.B., said, “Once people come onto our 800-acre campus, they are very impressed not only with the academic program offered but with the miles and miles of running trails, soccer fields, tennis courts, athletic center, a gorgeous library, spotless classrooms, and not to mention the stone cut buildings and Church.”

Visitors will get the chance to do just that, when the school holds its Fall 2021 open house. From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., the school’s renovated library building will serve as the collection point for inbound guests, from which current students and staff will be on standby to greet visitors and embark on impromptu campus tours.

There’s no need to call ahead — just show up at the library, and St. Bernard’s student ambassadors and staff will do the rest.

Recruiting new students is a top priority at Alabama’s only Catholic boarding school — as is making sure that prospective students are a good fit for St. Bernard’s highly structured, academically rigorous program. But one thing the school emphasizes to parents is that cost shouldn’t be a deciding factor in determining who can attend.

“We’re always trying to reach middle class families who think they can’t afford it,” says Father Klucsarits. “We have some need-based financial aid for those who qualify. There’s a lot of value in our program for the student who’s preparing to do well at the college level.

“Students receive a college experience while they’re still in high school here: they have a lot more responsibility, they’re exposed to a lot of different instructors, they spend their days on a campus that, in fact, used to be an actual college campus. I think they really get a significant measure of that college experience, and then when they go to college, what they report back to us is how well prepared they are — as well as how unprepared a lot of their new peers are.”

Unlike a lot of private schools (and even colleges, for that matter), most of what people see at St. Bernard isn’t window dressing. The buildings, the trails, the green spaces, the sports facilities — they’re meant to be used and experienced. “There’s an ambiance at St. Bernard that is very good for learning, for structured study, for socialization,” Father Klucsarits added.

Friday’s open house isn’t the only chance prospective students and their families have to see St. Bernard up close. “We’re happy to arrange for individual campus tours,” Father Klucsarits said. “We even offer shadowing opportunities; structured days that allow prospective students to experience life at school for a day here,” he says.

To learn more about the St. Bernard Prep School program, faculty, mission, and campus, visit the school’s website at stbernardprep.com, or contact the admissions office at 256-255-5890 to arrange a tour.