Last summer, Brian Ragatz was hired as president of all-boys St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, a full-circle moment for the 44-year-old alum. He’d led multiple Catholic schools in the archdiocese and then the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence based in Minneapolis. He and his wife, Anne, belong to Assumption in St. Paul and have a son, George, who will be a sixth grader at STA this school year.
Ragatz took a break from back-to-school preparations to reflect on his first year at the helm.
Q) Catholic education is part of your love story. You met your wife, Anne, in grade school — at St. Joe’s in West St. Paul — hung out in college — at St. John’s (University in Collegeville) and St. Ben’s (College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph) — and then reconnected when you were both teaching at Nativity in St. Paul.
A) We’d always joke with the kids: Look around the classroom. Maybe you’ll get married to someone in this class. The scowls!
Q) The student newspaper predicted you’d be head of STA one day — and so did the yearbook!
A) Pretty crazy! My closest friends give me a little grief about it. But I love being able to tell that story. It’s humbling.
Q) Your whole life has been preparing you for this position. How did it feel to step into it?
A) It feels great. I’m so blessed. I go to the chapel every day.
This was my dream job, and when I was approached about it, it didn’t take long to realize it’s still my dream job. I remember praying about it, and I just felt this wonderful feeling of comfort. I thought, “Wait, is it that easy?” Prayer isn’t usually the express checkout line. I recognized this is where I’m meant to be.
The boys are the best. That’s what drives me. I have the bell go off in my office, even if I’m in the middle of a meeting. I do everything I can to get up when that bell rings to engage the kids in the hallway. They give me hope, energy and life — and push me to become better.
We did something small this year that I implemented: We read the mission statement before every meeting. To develop boys into men of character — that’s our promise. No matter what we’re bringing into that meeting — we may have opinions and know it’s going to be a fiery meeting — we have to start with that mission. That centers everybody.
Q) This isn’t an easy time to be head of a Catholic school.
A) It is a divisive time. You can’t please everybody, but you can remain grounded in the mission and in what’s in the best interest of the school. Sometimes what’s in the best interest of the school is not what you want to do. Trust me — there are things that could’ve made my life a whole lot easier if I had made a different decision. But what’s in the best interest of the school?
People say: How Catholic are you? What do you mean? On a scale of one to 10? Our focus is to be unapologetically Catholic, capital “C,” and lower-case “c” — they can be both/and. You can have your faith and it can also be universal. For every kid who comes in here, our job is to not only teach them the ways of academics but the ways of Christ, regardless of what faith they bring in. There’s this fundamentally powerful story of Jesus Christ and you don’t have to be Catholic or Christian to recognize the beauty and sorrow of his life.
Q) What makes a great leader?
A) Great leaders continue to evolve. They’re good communicators, they have empathy, they have skills in community engagement and crisis management. The best leaders provide a sense of belonging and a sense of innovation. At the end of the day, the best leaders meet you where you’re at. You can push them to be better, but you have to allow yourself to be pulled too.
Q) You made a memorable first impression as president. A year ago, you began your first Workshop Week by greeting every single staff member by name. You’d studied the yearbook.
A) I was nervous. It was the first thing I did — I got the microphone, and I wanted to say each person’s name. There were 111 people. I knew that if I screwed one person up, everyone would laugh it off and say good job, but that person would feel terrible. I did it. And it didn’t matter what else I said all day. That was what mattered.
Q) You emphasize kindness and curiosity.
A) Being curious, from an educational standpoint, means recognizing I don’t have to be the smartest guy in the room. I’m usually not. I seek perspectives from a lot of people. Number one, I have to seek the perspective of the kids. I created a legacy advisory group where I have some retired teachers as well as our longest tenured teachers to offer input.
One thing I learned is we can’t be afraid to ask questions because we’re afraid of the answers. I’m trying to make that more prevalent. In order to stay curious, you have to ask questions. That’s going to ground you and help solidify the decisions you make. Initially, I was anxious about having to see someone in the hallway after they’d given advice I had not taken. But the majority of people will say: I can get on board with this even if it’s not what I first wanted. I just want to know you heard me. Tell me your decision-making process!
Q) Good listening and humility are key. Can you give an example of those traits in action?
A) We lost a student, Bennett Kotok, who died (of natural causes) his freshman year at Creighton (University in Omaha, Nebraska) This was a guy everyone loved. When he passed away, there were these bracelets that the boys made and wore. It’s not part of the uniform. You don’t get to wear bracelets here. There was a decision made that you could wear the bracelets for a week. Well, people were still grieving. One of the military instructors who helped make the decision to wear it for a week recognized quickly that this bracelet was helpful for them in their grieving, and we’re here to support kids. He said, “You know, I think we messed up on this one. I own it.” So, he got up that morning at formation and said, “We don’t always get it right, and this time we didn’t get it right.”
I believe that moment was pivotal to show the boys. It wasn’t an email. There was no better way than to demonstrate that in front of 560 young men: that it’s OK to get it wrong, to take accountability and make it right.
Q) How refreshing. The confessions that politicians are afraid to say are often so powerful: I was wrong; I don’t know; I changed my mind.
A) You build trust with that kind of honesty.
Q) Let’s talk about cellphones and wellbeing, teaching the whole child.
A) There are a lot of new studies about social media and a great book called “The Anxious Generation.” The neuroscience is there, but what’s equally important is how to develop what’s in their hearts and souls. We do these minute check-ins where our counselor will meet with every kid for a minute. “How’s it going?”
We believe not having phones available to the kids during the school day is a way they can develop their brains and just look up, talk to people. That’ll help their brains and their hearts! How you perform might get you the grade. How you deliver might get you the job. But how you sustain that and connect with people is what will get you that promotion and help your marriage and family.
Q) Sleep is also crucial to mental health. It sounds like Community Time helps, giving the students an open hour late in the school day to jumpstart evening homework and get to bed earlier.
A) Clubs can meet then, kids can get tutoring or take a mental break and go play basketball. It helps the kids learn to make decisions and manage unstructured time.
Q) How often is Community Time?
A) Every day.
Q) What do you know for sure?
A) I know what I love. I know that I love my faith, I know that I love my family, and I know that I love St. Thomas Academy. My life revolves around those three things — and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.
