Transition from Regents
As St. Mary’s High School continues to innovate our curriculum, we have decided that NYS regents no longer offers us the best avenue in creating college ready thinkers. In 2016, we introduced our Lancer Life Curriculum, weaving in courses such as personal finance, leadership, and public speaking. This, in turn, led to the creation of “The Academies at St. Mary’s High School” in 2021. New course offerings, as well as our commitment to cultivating upper-level thinking skills throughout, has led us down a divergent path.
This decision is not reactionary, in fact, it has been under consideration for several years. A committee of St. Mary’s administration, educators, board members, local and national education leaders, have been dedicated to this issue for some time; evaluating the current curriculum, course offerings, and analyzing the insights revealed during these strategic planning discussions.
Head of School, Kevin Kelleher and Dean of Curriculum and Academic Affairs Keith Junik, initiated meaningful dialogue with high school leaders across the state who, in turn, have also eliminated the Regents curriculum in their schools. In addition, they communicated with college personnel to ensure we were clear on any potential implications for the admissions process. In every conversation, it became more evident that the decision to eliminate Regents would net only positive results for our students and teachers.
Beginning this school year, 2024-2025, St. Mary’s will no longer tie ourselves to the New York State Regents curriculum and assessment system. Chemistry, Geometry and History will still be taught… however, this change will allow us to continue to create a new academic vision, a more dynamic and adaptive curriculum, and allow us to prepare students for college and beyond through collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication.
So, how does this look in the 2024-25 school year?
• Freshmen (class of ’28) and sophomores (Class of ’27) will not be offered regents exams. Instead, they will earn either a St. Mary’s Diploma or St. Mary’s Honors Diploma
• Juniors (Class of ’26) will be offered a choice: Take regents exams to earn regents/regents with advanced designation diploma – or – work to earn a St. Mary’s Diploma or Honors Diploma.
• Seniors (Class of ’25) have already completed the exams necessary and will finish the course load needed for either a regent’s diploma or an advanced diploma.
• During the 2025-26 school year, regent’s courses and exams will no longer be offered.
• It is important to note that graduation requirements will remain intact. Requirements for a full slate of courses in Math, Science, History, English, Religion, Foreign Language, Art, Music, Phys Ed., electives, our Life curriculum will remain
Our faculty is motivated and eager for the transition, and we embrace the many important tasks ahead. We are all extremely excited as we envision our future: new courses of study, more cross-curricular learning opportunities, and a wider variety of assessment tools to measure results. A “Teaching and Learning Committee” composed of administrators and teacherleaders has been formed to lead the transition planning efforts, and important professional development opportunities have been identified.
As always, reach out to Dean of Academic Affairs, Keith Junik with questions at [email protected]
Nicholas Fiume
Board of Trustees Chair
St. Mary’s High School Academies Program
In an ongoing effort to innovate and advance St. Mary’s college-preparatory curriculum, The Academies at St. Mary’s High School is a new program created by the school that launched with the start of the 2022-23 school year.
This pioneering initiative allows students to participate in focused areas of study during their Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years with the end goal for them to achieve a deeper understanding of the potential career paths and majors that colleges and universities offer. Freshmen will automatically be enrolled in The Academy of The First Year, giving them the tools to succeed over the next four years of high school.
The Academies at St. Mary’s High School will include:
The Business/Entrepreneurship/Finance Academy
The Education Academy
The Engineering & Experimental Design Academy
The Global Citizenship/International Relations Academy
The Sciences & Health and Wellness Professionals Academy
The Hospitality & Event Planning Academy
The Journalism & Marketing Academy
The Law & Criminal Justice Academy
The Performing Arts Academy
The Visual Arts Academy
The Academy of The First Year
The Academies are managed by St. Mary’s dedicated faculty, under the guidance of the Dean of Academic Affairs, Mr. Keith Junik, and enhanced by adjunct professors and guest lecturers, including professionals from the school’s passionate alumni base, parents, and local and national experts in their fields. The Academies meet twice weekly and co-exist with the gold-standard St. Mary’s High School and Lancer Life Curriculum currently offered. St. Mary’s High School currently ranks seventh in Buffalo Business First’s rankings of 131 high schools in Western New York.
“We are always trying to be innovative and creative when it comes to our curriculum,” said Dean of Academic Affairs, Keith Junik. “A few years ago, we instituted the Lancer Life Curriculum, which mandates students take courses that teach important life skills, like public speaking, leadership, personal finance, and our award-winning senior portfolio capstone project. The Academies at St. Mary’s High School takes that initiative even further, giving our students a real advantage as they head off to college, already having a background in majors they may want to pursue or crossing things off the list they’re no longer interested in,” Junik concluded.
“It is the overall student experience and the desire to make it a rewarding, positive, and practical one that motivates the Administration at St. Mary’s High School,” said Head of School, Kevin Kelleher. “We want to make that student experience second to none, and programs like this – that are a forward-thinking way to educate – allow us to do just that. An initiative like this gets our students, faculty, and staff excited about our future. Our families are thrilled with the concept. We look forward to continuing to develope The Academies Program at St. Mary’s High School into an academic tradition of unparalleled excellence,” Kelleher said.