Unity Map: Cartography of a Father's Homework

Growing up in traditional, reasonably well-adjusted families in the Midwest, Tom and Susan wanted a family of their own when they married in the late 1980s. Two decades later, they were raising four kids and contemplating their options for high schools. Uninspired by the options, Tom conferred with dozens of parents and ultimately teamed with one of the world’s foremost experts on G.K. Chesterton to start a new Catholic high school.

But as an educational adventure unfolded in the classroom, drama was mounting at home where Tom and Susan’s youngest struggled to overcome the emotional trauma of his adoption. Entering his teens, Matthew struggled to cope, disrupting his own life and upending the functionality of their home with his three siblings, in addition to mom and dad. Therapy and treatment through emotional outbursts, threats of violence, and undiagnosed mental health trials took the family down an uncharted path toward residential treatment.

With Chesterton Academy launched, Tom’s ideas about education led him to a new effort focused on serving more students through implementation of a curriculum focused on general liberal arts. After exploring charter school approaches, an opportunity emerged to launch another Catholic high school. Teaming with a former NFL football player, the pair opened a school in an underserved area of the Twin Cities with a curriculum designed to serve students whether they elect to go onto higher education, enter the military or join the workforce upon high school graduation.

By the time Matthew reached his late teens, he found a way to complete high school, but only one of Tom and Susan’s kids graduated from either of the two schools he helped to found. While Tom hoped to shape the lives of their children, it was really the children who opened his eyes to the various challenges teens face as they emerge into adulthood. That lesson continues to drive Tom’s passion for education, which he believes desperately needs the involvement of dedicated parents.