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The Benefits of Integrating Catholic Education

For nearly 100 years, Monte Cassino Catholic School has shown Tulsa families what happens when faith and academic excellence grow together.

When Tulsa parents start researching private schools, they often ask the same question: what does a Catholic education actually do for my child that a traditional school can't?

It's a fair question — and the answer goes much deeper than religion class.

At Monte Cassino Catholic School, a Benedictine Catholic Pre-K through 8th grade school located in midtown Tulsa, Catholic education isn't a single subject on a schedule. It's the foundation everything else is built on. Here's what that looks like in practice, and why it matters for your child's future.

Catholic Education Builds the Whole Child, Not Just the Student

The most meaningful difference between a Catholic education and a conventional one isn't academic — it's the deliberate attention paid to who a child is becoming, not just what they're learning.

At Monte Cassino, that formation is guided by the eight Benedictine values: community, hospitality, stewardship, respect for persons, love of learning, prayer, work, and integrity. These aren't posted on a wall and forgotten. They shape how teachers run their classrooms, how students treat one another, and how the school community operates as a whole.

The result is a school culture that's noticeably different from the moment you walk in. Students from five different religious backgrounds and 40 different zip codes across the Tulsa area come together under a shared commitment to decency and mutual respect. That kind of environment doesn't happen by accident — it's the product of nearly 100 years of intentional formation.

Faith and Academic Rigor Aren't in Competition

One of the most common misconceptions about Catholic schools is that faith comes at the expense of academics. Monte Cassino's results tell a different story.

With an 8:1 student-to-teacher ratio and an average class size of just 17, students receive the individual attention that makes academic growth possible. The middle school Honors Program, world language offerings in French, Latin, and Spanish, and the new Benedictine Lead Institute place Monte Cassino among the most academically rigorous private schools in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The numbers back this up: 81% of last year's 8th graders were recognized as PreACT Rising Stars, with one in three placing in the top 15% of students nationally. Every Monte Cassino graduate has been accepted to their first-choice high school — 100%, year after year.

A Catholic education at Monte Cassino doesn't ask students to choose between faith and achievement. It shows them those two things were never in conflict to begin with.

Service Isn't Optional — It's How Students Learn to Lead

One of the most powerful elements of a Catholic education is its emphasis on service — not as an extracurricular checkbox, but as a genuine expression of values.

At Monte Cassino, service is woven into the student experience from the earliest grades. The school's Monte Cares program and grade-level service projects give students real responsibility and real stakes. The most visible example: each year, Monte Cassino sixth-graders are challenged to raise money for the Salvation Army Angel Tree entirely through their own acts of service — raking leaves, running bake sales, hosting face-painting booths, selling handmade goods. In a recent year, 51 sixth-graders raised over $12,000.

That's not a field trip. That's leadership education with measurable impact.

Students who grow up doing this kind of work develop something that test scores can't capture: a sense of agency, a habit of looking outward, and a genuine belief that their actions matter to the people around them. Those qualities show up in high school, in college, and for the rest of their lives.

The Benedictine Difference: A Living Tradition

What makes Monte Cassino's Catholic education unique — even among other Catholic schools in Tulsa — is its Benedictine identity.

The school was founded in 1926 by the Benedictine Sisters, who first arrived in Oklahoma Territory just months after the Land Run. On their very first day, in a tent city, six students showed up for class — two of them Catholic. The Sisters taught everyone. That spirit of welcome has never left.

Today, the Benedictine Sisters still live on the Monte Cassino campus at St. Joseph Monastery, and their presence is a quiet but powerful reminder of what the school is for. The Rule of St. Benedict — written in the sixth century at Monte Cassino in central Italy — emphasizes balance, hospitality, and the dignity of every person. These aren't abstract ideals. They're the operating principles of a school that has been putting them into practice for nearly a century in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Real Students, Real Results

The outcomes of a Monte Cassino Catholic education show up in ways both measurable and immeasurable.

On the measurable side: National Spelling Bee qualifiers, statewide essay contest winners, PreACT results that rank among the best in Oklahoma, and a 100% high school acceptance rate. A Monte Cassino student recently won first place in the Oklahoma Bar Association's statewide Law Day essay contest. Another had a flag design formally proposed for adoption by the City of Owasso.

On the immeasurable side: graduates who know how to work hard, treat people well, and contribute to something bigger than themselves. Former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating is among Monte Cassino's alumni, graduating from the middle school in 1958 — a reminder that the values formed here have a very long reach.

Catholic Education in Tulsa: What to Look For

If you're exploring Catholic education options in Tulsa for your child, here are the questions worth asking of any school:

Are the school's values visible in how students actually treat each other — or just in marketing materials?
Does the school have a track record of academic outcomes, not just intentions?
Is faith formation integrated into the full school experience, or siloed into one class per week?
Does the school serve students of different backgrounds, or only one narrow community?

Monte Cassino's answer to all four is straightforward. Come see for yourself.

Experience Catholic Education at Monte Cassino

For Tulsa families looking for a Catholic school that takes both faith and academics seriously, Monte Cassino has nearly 100 years of proof that the two belong together.

Schedule a campus tour and meet the teachers, students, and community that make Monte Cassino one of Tulsa's most trusted private schools.

📍 2206 South Lewis Ave., Tulsa, OK 74114 📞 (918) 742-3364 🌐 montecassino.org/admissions/tour-campus

Monte Cassino Catholic School
2206 South Lewis Ave. Tulsa, OK 74114
P. (918) 742-3364 F. (918) 742-5206