INNOVATION MEETS TRADITIONSaint Martin’s Academy is a Catholic boarding school for boys that combines classical academics with a practical work program on a sustainable farm.SEE HOW WE’RE CHANGING BOYS’ EDUCATIONINNOVATION MEETS TRADITIONSaint Martin’s Academy is a Catholic boarding school for boys that combines classical academics with a practical work program on a sustainable farm.SEE HOW WE’RE CHANGING BOYS’ EDUCATIONINNOVATION MEETS TRADITIONSaint Martin’s Academy is a Catholic boarding school for boys that combines classical academics with a practical work program on a sustainable farm.SEE HOW WE’RE CHANGING BOYS’ EDUCATION
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EDUCATIONAL VISION
We begin with the end in mind. As creatures made for union with God, we can only find true fulfillment through an ever-deepening relationship with Jesus Christ. And that relationship demands engagement from the whole person: body, mind and soul. In all that we do at St. Martin’s – farm-work, study and prayer – we see to create a rich and fertile soil for God to do His work in cultivating Saints.
OUR COMMITMENTS:
“Noise is a whirlwind that avoids looking oneself in the face and confronting the interior emptiness…What will become of our world if it cannot find oases of silence?
ROBERT CARDINAL SARAH
Prefect, Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship
LIFE AT ST. MARTIN’S
Situated in the mixed prairie and woodlands of rural Bourbon Country, Kansas, St. Martin’s Academy offers a rare retreat from “Noise” and creates a space for boys to be boys. These are young men in motion, with field, forest and stream offering a theatre for both study and play.
7:00am: Rise and Chores
“…only meaningful work can provide the soil in which festivity flourishes.” – Josef Pieper
8:00am: Mass
“Liturgy is the consummation of education and the ultimate school of our humanity.” – Stratford Caldecott
9:00am: Breakfast
“The Son of Man came eating and drinking.” Matthew 11:19
9:30am: Classes
“If there is one mark more striking than another about the Catholic Church it is its intellectual freedom.” -Hilaire Belloc
12:00pm: Angelus & Lunch
“Tis not the food, but the content, That makes the table’s merriment.” -Robert Herrick
1:05pm: Classes
“A truly great intellect is one which takes a connected view of old and new, past and present, far and near, and which has an insight into the influence of all these one on another.” -Blessed John Henry Newman
3:30pm: Athletics
“To become a man one must be broken to bodily hardship and bodily strain such as are called forth in athletic contests.” -Fr. Edward Leen
5:30pm: Rosary
“He must bring the natural powers of the soul under the influence of grace, and this he does through prayer.” -St. Bonaventure
6:00pm: Dinner
“This magical, marvelous food on our plate, this sustenance we absorb, has a story to tell. It has a journey. It leaves a footprint. It leaves a legacy. To eat with reckless abandon, without conscience, without knowledge; folks this ain’t normal” – Joel Salitin
7:00pm: Study Hall
“To open the mind, to correct it, to refine it, to enable it, to know, and to digest, master, rule, and use its knowledge, to give it power over its own faculties, application, flexibility, method, critical exactness, sagacity, resource, address, eloquent expression.” -Blessed John Henry Newman
8:30pm: Free Time
“Man only plays when he is in the fullest sense of the word a human being, and he is only fully a human being when he plays.” -Friedrich Schiller
9:30pm: Compline
“In manus tuas Domine, commendo spiritum meum / Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.” -Responsory of Compline
10:00pm: Retire
“Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch or weep tonight, and give your angels charge over those who sleep.” -St. Augustine
THE GOOD LIFE…
ABOUT US
In essence, St. Martin’s is a faculty of friends united in Christ around a common vision of the good life and a desire to share that vision with young men of good-will.
Daniel Kerr, Headmaster
BA: University of Dallas
Daniel Kerr’s desire to start St. Martin’s began well over 20 years ago after reading John Senior’s short work on the founding of a boys’ school, The Restoration of Innocence. Prior to St. Martin’s, Mr. Kerr co-founded AdjusterPro, helping lead the growth of a two-man operation into a team of 35 that has become the nation’s leading educational provider in insurance adjuster & appraiser licensing. In 2015, in conjunction with Fr. McElwee, Daniel started The Prairie Troubadour, an annual Symposium of Catholic Culture named in honor of his father, the late Gerald F. Kerr. Mr. Kerr and his wife Katie raise their 6 spirited children on a farm bustling with cattle, hogs, sheep and a variety of barnyard fowl.
Adam Taylor, Assistant Headmaster
BA: American Public University System
Mr. Taylor recognized his calling to education from an early age; his parents James and Linda were both teachers, musicians and poets who instilled in their children the love of the True, Good and Beautiful. However, his path to realizing that calling took a bit longer than most. After graduating from St. Mary’s Academy (NE Kansas), Mr. Taylor briefly attended Kansas State University, before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps in December 1992. For 20 years, he served in a variety of leadership roles and worldwide locations, retiring in May of 2013. Since then, he’s worked for Cloudera, Inc., most recently in the role of VP, Professional Services. He has a lifelong love of history, literature, the outdoors, and sport, and is passionate about building, developing and leading great teams. Mr. Taylor and his wife Annie and two children currently reside in Fort Scott, KS; his son Ian is a member of our founding class of 2021.
Kenneth Klassen, Academic Dean
BA, MA, Ph.D.: University of Kansas
Dr. Klassen has devoted his life to education. With over 40 years teaching experience in a variety of subjects from Calculus and Physics to English and Latin, Dr. Klassen’s warmth and wit have made him a beloved and revered figure in the Fort Scott community. He and his wife, Holly, raised 7 children on a small farm where they embraced agrarian living long before it was cool: milking a cow, growing vegetables, raising chickens and a variety of livestock as they enjoyed encountering God in His other book, the book of Nature.
Bryan Meyers, Dean of Student Life
BA: Northern Illinois University
Some people’s lives are changed by experiences. Some people’s lives by mentors. Bryan’s life was changed by books. Soon after high school it thus became apparent to him that, if possible, he wanted to spend his life reading books and sharing this love of all things literary with others. In the goodness of God, his wish was made a reality, and he has spent most of his professional life teaching, even lending a hand in the accreditation process of two classical Christian schools. As a teacher, his philosophy is simple: He loves books and he loves children, and he teaches, in the words of Wendell Berry, “merely by introducing the one to the other.” He and his beautiful wife and four children are glad to call Fort Scott and Saint Martin’s Academy home.
Ryan Bauer, Farm Lead and Teacher
BS: Southern Illinois University
MS: Colorado State University
Ryan’s deep love for Sacred Scripture, liturgy and science have fostered his passion to teach the unity of Faith and Reason. Ryan has always been convicted of his calling to teach and mentor young adults in experiential learning. His undergraduate years were spent studying physics and playing Division I soccer. His love for the outdoors and admiration of the mountains led him to Colorado where he earned his masters in physics. Ryan then spent two years with the Franciscan Friars Minor in South Bend, Indiana learning many valuable lessons in simplicity, prayer and living in community life. Ryan and his wife Danielle (our secretary) were married in 2019 on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.
Raymond Spiotta, Scholar in Residence
BA: Hillsdale College, MA: Polis Institute (Jerusalem)
Raymond Spiotta recently moved to Fort Scott from his hometown of Wheaton, Illinois. After a number of years teaching at Classial charter schools in both the Phoenix and Dallas areas, he is all afire to be able to teach now, not only Latin, but also Humanities and the Bible, at a Catholic school.
Ethan Visser, Teacher and Admissions
BME: University of Kansas
Mrs. Klassen was born in Nuremberg, Germany (her father’s Army posting), but spent most of her childhood in Kansas. While attending the University of Kansas, she was part of the Pearson Integrated Humanities Program. For over 31 years, she was the principal French Horn with the SE Kansas Symphony Orchestra, while also teaching music in her private studio. She directed a madrigal choir in Fort Scott, served as music editor for St. Paul’s Family Magazine, and has led liturgical music within the local Latin Mass community. Jean and her husband Ron (another of our teachers) raised four children, and call Fort Scott home.
Fr. Anthony Pilari, JCL, MCL, STL, Chaplain
Fr. Pillari is a Roman Catholic priest who holds a degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana; degrees in sacred theology from L’Insitut Catholique of Toulouse, France and from L’Institut Saint Thomas d’Aquin; and degrees in canon law from St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada and from the University of Ottawa. He is currently studying for doctorates in Canon Law and Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.
He has been engaged in apostolates for children and young families for the past 20 years, including a variety of home-schooling apostolates.
Sebastian Macik, Chef and Teacher
BA: Wyoming Catholic College
Chef Macik has always been convinced that good times need good food. He attended Wyoming Catholic College, where he worked in the kitchen and formed various singing and juggling troupes. After graduation, Sebastian spent a year teaching in Mexico, where he developed a love for authentic Mexican cooking styles. Seb then moved to Dallas, got married, and taught for a year at a classical charter school before joining us as one of the founding members of the St. Martin’s Academy staff. He still enjoys singing, juggling, and creating masterpieces in the kitchen, and his excitement is infectious. He and his wife Erin have two children, and are expecting their third in September.
Danielle Bauer, Development Coordinator
BA: University of Dallas
Danielle brings to St. Martin’s many years of experience in event planning, corporate marketing, ministry and Catholic education. Danielle graduated from the University of Dallas where she earned her degree in Business Leadership and was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame for volleyball. She loves bringing people together in community and has a passion for hiking, traveling, cooking and sharing her gift of hospitality with others. Danielle and her husband Ryan (one of our teachers) were recently married in St. Louis, where they were both raised.
Charles Gentry, Teacher
BA, JD: University of Kansas
Charles Gentry maintained a general law practice in Fort Scott from 1975, when he graduated from the KU School of Law, until retirement in 2020. He has served on the Fort Scott Planning Commission and City Commission, and as Mayor. He has also served as judge pro tem in municipal, magistrate and district courts. Currently, Mr. Gentry is corporate Secretary of St. Martin’s Academy, Inc., and is a member of the Fort Scott Street Advisory Board, the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation Board, and the Mary Queen of Angels Finance Council. His interests include sailing and fly fishing.
Emma Visser, Secretary
BA: University of Hillsdale
Emma Visser, recently married to Ethan Visser, is going to be the new secretary for the year. She is a graduate of Hillsdale College, where she studied politics. Though born in Texas, she strongly identifies with the Midwest — especially Michigan. She is excited to get to know the St. Martin’s family while working on staff.
Joe Meyers, House Father
Hailing from small-town Nebraska, Jack Duffy was born into a Lutheran home, where he received formation rooted in the Holy Scriptures. Following his introduction to the Catholic Faith while studying Philosophy and German at Hillsdale College, Jack entered the Church at Easter of 2019. He is currently on hiatus from formal studies but will often be found studying theology, philosophy, or German, as well as indulging his penchants for music, poetry, wrestling, and various combatives.
Nick Davis, House Father
Nicholas Davis was born in California, raised in small-town Nebraska, and studied music recording near Nashville, Tennessee – where his family now resides – before claiming Lincoln, Nebraska as home. He is a cradle Catholic in a family of ever-growing faith, and Nicholas is very close with his brother, Matthew, who is now at FSSP seminary. Occupationally, Nicholas has installed audio/visual systems in churches and will likely return to the electrician field. His other interests include recording music albums or podcasts, performing bluegrass and Irish music, homebrewing/mixology, and singing with Lincoln Cathedral’s choir. Nicholas continues independent studies of the Italian language, theology, and philosophy.