Continuing the mission

Nestled in the Edgewater neighborhood just a mile away from Loyola University Chicago’s Lake Shore Campus is Nicholas Senn High School, a regal, century-old building with corinthian columns and ornate architectural features. But more important is what’s taking place inside.

As a top public school, Senn boasts one of the most diverse and accomplished student bodies in the Chicago Public School system, with International Baccalaureate accreditation, top-notch ESL programs and a robust fine and performing arts program that serves its 1,600 students who represent over 60 languages and cultures. This high-performing school is also home to a bevy of current, former, and future Ramblers thanks to a unique partnership between the schools.

In 2012, the launch of the Senn/Loyola Partnership strengthened the connection of the two schools and helped create an official pipeline of Loyola-educated teachers while fostering a community of high-achieving students eager to continue their education at Loyola. Now over a decade old, the partnership has flourished to include in and out-of-school learning experiences, social, cultural and civic enrichment opportunities, and continued professional development support from Loyola’s top faculty.

After many years teaching at Senn, Meagan Zeman, BSEd ’13, still finds inspiration from her Jesuit education at Loyola and incorporates the Ignatian value of cura personalis, caring for the whole person, into her Senn classroom. Faced with students returning to in-person classes after a two-year COVID-19 hiatus, Zeman wanted to help students reestablish successful learning routines at school, so she crafted lessons that emphasize mindfulness and forming good habits to get through the fuzz and lingering effects of the pandemic.

“Being able to analyze deeply is a beautiful part of math, and students can transfer this skill to other areas of their life,” says Zeman.

For Zeman, teaching was something she always wanted to do. “When I was 5 years old, I watched Matilda, and I absolutely loved Ms. Honey and saw the positive impact she had on her students,” she quips. “What a goal, if you could be anything in life, why not that?”

She intentionally chose Loyola because of the University’s deep-rooted social justice mission. Being a person for others, she knew urban education could afford her an opportunity to serve her community.

In addition to her classroom responsibilities, Zeman helps lead the recently developed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) team at Senn. On the team with Zeman is another Rambler, Donald (Donny) Schiek, BSEd ’16, who is Senn’s English Language Learner (ELL) program coordinator and U.S. history teacher. When creating the DEI team, Schiek reached out to Loyola’s School of Education to host working sessions with faculty who are experts in culturally and linguistically responsive teaching and equity-building within schools. Again, the Senn/Loyola partnership proved pivotal.

“We knew we needed to create culturally relevant learning experiences while making materials accessible and rigorous,” Schiek says. “When the curriculum is relevant to the students’ lived experiences, it encourages them to talk about their own lives.”

Loyola’s School of Education teaching program is unique in that it places undergraduates into real classrooms as teaching candidates from day one. This is where Schiek, as an undergrad, got his start at Senn.

“It gave me an entrée into the field, which came with practical experience that I could then apply. That is why I love the Senn/Loyola partnership, I felt much more confident as a teacher,” says Schiek.

One classroom at Senn leaves teacher candidates particularly transformed. “We have student observers come into Ms. Lackey’s class and leave with a million and one questions and are enamored by what she does,” says Schiek. As the English as a second language coach and ELL teacher, Loyola alumna Rachel Lackey, MEd ’13, teaches in a way that connects with her students and illustrates the power of following your purpose.

Unlike Zeman and Schiek, Lackey discovered teaching later in life. She originally wanted to be a writer, but after realizing she was a natural teacher, she accepted an opportunity to student-teach in Chicago. This experience had her questioning the career until an interaction with a student solidified education as her calling.

“I met a learner while student teaching who was not being served; he was bilingual and a senior and had no language support. That’s when I realized, if I am going to stay in education, this is where I need to be.”

Just down the hall from Lackey is another Loyola alumnus and adjunct professor for the School of Communication, Michael Cullinane, MA ’17. Cullinane leads Senn’s digital journalism program and teaches media literacy and broadcast journalism.

Through Cullinane’s leadership, Loyola’s School of Communication partnered with Senn to build the digital journalism program, one of the few high school journalism programs in the city. All projects are hands-on through a project-based model of learning so seniors leave with professional skills. The partnership also means that some of his journalism scholars can enroll in Loyola’s School of Communications with advanced course standing.

Opportunities like this help engrain Loyola into the culture of Senn, with many students hoping to someday attend Loyola. Each year five Senn graduates become David Prasse Scholars and are awarded full scholarships to Loyola. The collaboration between the two schools seeks to live out the principles of mutual benefit, place-based engagement, and sustainability in all that it does. Prior to the partnership, virtually no Senn students applied to enroll at Loyola, now that number is around 125 students each year.

“The partnership generates opportunities for Loyola faculty, staff, and students to participate actively in the life of the school. This strengthens our academic research and insights for practice, while Senn students and teachers enrich our academics, culture, and diversity at Loyola Chicago,” says Jon Schmidt, EdD, clinical assistant professor and Senn/Loyola Partnership coordinator.

Read more stories from the School of Education.