Applications are being accepted for a new Julie Billiart School that will open in August 2021 in Westlake.
Following the Julie Billiart Schools model, the Westlake campus will accept students in grades K-4 next fall and will accept students up to grade 8 in fall 2022. It is a coed, independent school that will offer west side families an educational option for students who have learning differences. Julie Billiart Schools serve children with mild to moderate autism, anxiety, dyslexia, ADHD and other learning differences.
Students will enjoy a modern, spacious school building with sensory-friendly classrooms, a large gym, therapy rooms, specially designed quiet zones and alternate learning areas, plenty of natural light and lots of space to learn and play.
The new school is in a building located on Crocker Road, two miles south of the Crocker Park shopping and dining district. It will be the third Julie Billiart campus. The first opened in 1954 and expanded in 1958 to its current Lyndhurst location. The second campus opened in 2017 as a ministry of St. Sebastian Parish in Akron, operating independently from the parish and school. However, the parish provides monthly Mass and sacramen
Julie Billiart Schools are accredited by the Ohio Catholic Schools Accrediting Association as part of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland through the state of Ohio. They follow the Cleveland Catholic Diocese and the schools share some resources and activities.Ohio Department of Education course of studies. Course work includes language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, physical education and religion.
The Julie Billiart community includes teachers, administrators, therapists and other families that are loving, inclusive, and welcoming to one another. They work to build relationships with families and provide the support needed to ensure continuity when students are not in school.
Julie Billiart’s team of therapists collaborate with one another and other faculty members to enhance the school’ whole-child approach to learning. Behavior, art, music, occupational and speech therapists also play a pivotal role in students’ educational journeys -- both one-on-one and within the classrooms. All on-site therapies are included in the tuition.
St. Julie Billiart is the patroness for the schools. She was born in 1751 in France and loved teaching the Catholic faith to children in her village. When she was a young woman, her family’s store was robbed and the traumatic experience left her paralyzed for 22 years. However she continued to teach the faith, which was forbidden and dangerous when the French Revolution began.
In 1804, she founded the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. The congregation cared for orphans and taught and educated teachers. About a year later, St. Julie was cured of her paralysis and continued to spread the faith, opening schools for girls of all economic levels.
She died in 1816.
Members of the congregation journeyed to the United States and eventually settled in Cleveland, where they continue their ministry of education.
St. Julie was beatified in 1906 and canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1969.
Click here for more information on Julie Billiart Schools, to attend an open house, submit an application or schedule a tour.