CHARLOTTE — A private school in Asheville is joining the Diocese of Charlotte’s system of Catholic schools, diocesan leaders have announced.
Canongate Catholic High School, an independent school founded in 2013, is being recognized by Bishop Peter Jugis as an affiliate school of the diocese. It will become the 20th Catholic school within the diocese, although it will remain financially and administratively independent.
Canongate has 33 students enrolled in grades 9-12 and 14 educators (full- and part-time) at its location on the campus of St. Barnabas Church in Arden.
“We joyfully welcome Canongate Catholic High School into our family of Catholic schools within the diocese,” said Dr. Gregory Monroe, superintendent of diocesan Catholic Schools, in a letter to the Canongate community. “This affiliate status recognizes the good and faithful work of your school leadership and faculty in providing an authentically Catholic, integrated and robust curriculum that allows for the proper formation of students towards salvation and sainthood.”
Monroe noted that although Canongate will remain independent, diocesan leadership will be responsible for reviewing and ensuring that all aspects of the school align with Catholic teaching. Canongate teachers and staff will also be welcome to attend professional development opportunities and other resources offered through the diocese’s Catholic Schools Office.
Canongate’s principal, Sedrick Dellinger, said he is pleased about the school’s new affiliate designation, which he said signals the strength of Catholic education in the Asheville community. He also said that he hopes it attracts interest from more families interested in a Catholic education for their children.
“I am excited to be able to participate in diocesan Catholic Schools’ opportunities,” Dellinger added. “I also look forward to more opportunities to connect with principals at other schools.”
Canongate’s culture is one of immersion and hands-on learning experiences. The classical curriculum focuses on four “educational pillars”: wonder, attention, freedom and joy. The school’s motto is “Ex umbris in veritatem” (“Out of the shadows into the truth”).
According to the school's website, 67% of its faculty have advanced degrees, and its graduates have gone on to attend Belmont Abbey College, Western Carolina University, Brevard College, UNC-Asheville and UNC-Charlotte, among others.
Father Adrian Porras, Canongate’s spiritual director, has hosted the school in the religious education wing on his parish campus since January 2020, but his involvement dates back to the school’s earliest days.
“Their presence here has been very positive,” Father Porras said. “This designation gives them more recognition, people feel more confident, and now we can say we have the bishop’s blessing.”
Canongate is not the first Catholic high school in the Asheville area. The city was once home to three Catholic high schools staffed by religious orders: Asheville Catholic High School, which closed in 1972, and St. Genevieve-of-the-Pines School for girls and Gibbons Hall School for Boys, which merged with Asheville Country Day School in 1987 to form Carolina Day School.
Canongate offers another education option for Asheville-area families, in addition to Asheville Catholic School that serves pre-kindergarten through eighth grades on its campus adjacent to St. Eugene Church.
Canongate is the fourth Catholic high school in the diocese, along with Charlotte Catholic High School, Bishop McGuinness High School in Kernersville, and Christ the King High School in Huntersville.
Monroe noted that Canongate’s new affiliation with the diocese “shows the commitment and desire of the bishop and the Catholic Schools Office to serve the diverse needs of our families by continuing to provide multiple opportunities for authentic Catholic education.”
On May 25, school and diocesan leaders will gather at St. Barnabas Church for a ceremony to officially install Canongate as an affiliate, private Catholic high school of the diocese.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Pictured at top: Canongate's students enjoy immersion trips and other out-of-the-classroom experiences as part of the school's classical curriculum. “Balancing between rigor and leisure, students bring their head and heart to school, cultivating virtue in addition to advancement,” its website states.
Canongate’s name has a saintly connection
Canongate Catholic High School’s name is based on the life of its patron saint, St. Margaret of Scotland. “Canongate” was the name of the road connecting her castle to a church built in her honor. The name serves as a metaphor to describe the school’s Catholic mission: by way of the canon – the enduring works of science, art and literature, together with the Church’s scripture and its Eucharistic prayer – students find the gate or path out of shadows into the truth, as its motto “Ex umbris in veritatem” declares.
Learn more about the diocese’s newest Catholic high school at www.canongatecatholic.org.