Bishop blesses St. Nicholas Academy and its students
Boarding school in Jefferson City helps boys who are at risk reach their full potential
SCROLL THE ARROWS to see more photos.
One of the children held the Book of Blessings, one held a container of water, and another held a thick reed.
Bishop W. Shawn McKnight proclaimed the Scripture passage about Jesus on the Road to Emmaus, then extended his hands and pronounced the prayers of blessing.
“Bless this house and all who inhabit it,” he prayed. “Fill them with the light of Christ, that their concern for others may reflect your love.”
The children led the bishop from room-to-room and down the stairs, with him sprinkling holy water onto the walls at every stop.
“You’re gonna get a little wet!” he told them as the holy water, a reminder of Baptism, rained down on them.
At last, they returned to the Great Room, where an impressive painting of St. Nicholas of Myra, patron saint of children, overlooks a large fireplace.
“There! Now your house is blessed!” the bishop told them.
“It really is!” said Michaela Newell, Ph.D.
Dr. Newell is executive director of St. Nicholas Academy (stnick.org), a faith-based boarding school in Jefferson City that helps boys who are at risk reach their full potential.
She and her husband, Kyrell Newell, also serve as the houseparents to the five boys, ages 8 to 13, who now live there.
All of the students attend St. Peter School in Jefferson City.
“The biggest thing St. Nicholas Academy provides is a family setting, a family environment where boys feel loved and have structure while doing everyday things such as attending school, going to sports practice, participating in plays, going to church, going to sleepovers and so forth,” said Dr. Newell.
“Just being able to have this inclusive family setting where they feel free to be themselves,” she said.
High expectations and love
St. Nicholas Academy is an independent 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization, governed by a board of directors.
The academy’s recently refined mission statement, approved by its board, is: “We partner with families to help children reach their full potential physically, academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually, in an inclusive family setting that provides love and compassion in a protected and safe environment.”
Its vision statement is: “to form students who leave as high school graduates, equipped to pursue their dreams, sharing their lives with others through compassion, service and love.”
Elizabeth Huber, a member of St. Peter Parish in Jefferson City, founded the academy with help from dedicated board members and Sister Susan Renner of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, who came to Jefferson City to serve as the academy’s first director.
The idea came from a discussion Mrs. Huber had with a teacher who was frustrated that children with great potential were falling behind because they didn’t have a consistently stable home environment.
Capital Region Medical Center owns the building and provides it to the academy with an extremely reasonable lease.
Mrs. Huber and Sr. Susan raised money, and with donations of time and materials from community businesses and individuals, oversaw renovating the building into a large home.
The academy began accepting students in 2020.
Growth has been steady.
Counselors in local school districts and the Missouri Foster Care and Adoption Association connect St. Nicholas Academy with families who could benefit from what it offers.
“If you give kids consistent expectations and love, they thrive,” said Dr. Newell. “That’s all we do: give them consistent expectations and love in a family setting. They put in the work, and they thrive.”
“It’s very good”
All of the boys have parents or guardians living in or near Jefferson City. The boys, however, spend most of their time at school, at extracurricular activities and in the St. Nicholas Academy building, where they sleep and have their meals and down time.
“They only go home about one weekend a month and on holidays,” said Dr. Newell.
The academy also includes a year-round program with summer activities that provide many growth-filled experiences.
“I like all the activities that we do,” said Lucas, a third-grader at the academy. “I like the fun time I get to have here. The people here. What Michaela and Kyrell have been doing.”
As St. Nicholas Academy’s newest student, Lucas visited a few times about a year ago and moved in in January.
“It’s very good,” he said. “I’m very happy here.”
The Newells gave birth to a baby girl named Iva in mid-November.
“I like their little baby, too,” Lucas stated. “She’s pretty cute!”
Dr. Newell said the boys all treat Iva like their adopted little sister.
“We are a big family,” she said. “Anything you’d do with siblings and a new baby, we do. We sanitize our hands a lot. We’re aware when we touch our face. Little things like that.”
Everyone agrees that life is more fun with a baby around.
“They’ll teach her things, she’ll never be bored, she’ll always have a playmate,” said Dr. Newell. “It’s just going to be beautiful.”
God’s timing
The Newells, who are members of the United Methodist Church, met in Iowa while Dr. Newell was pursuing a pharmacy degree and Mr. Newell was majoring in accounting. He later entered Fuller Theological Seminary.
Early in their courtship, they realized that God was calling them to lavish his love on children, whether or not they were their own.
“We knew at a really young age that that’s what our marriage would be about sometime in our lifetime,” said Dr. Newell. “That would be part of our mission.”
The couple moved to Jefferson City, where Dr. Newell began honing her administrative skills with the Missouri Pharmaceutical Association, and Mr. Newell, newly graduated from the seminary, began ministering at the First United Methodist Church.
“Then COVID hit,” Dr. Newell recalled. “And I was working a lot around policies and distribution of vaccines and all of that fun stuff.”
The couple had applied to be houseparents for Boys Town in Nebraska when Dr. Newell heard from friends in her Rotary International club that St. Nicholas Academy was in need of houseparents and an executive director.
That night, the Newells discussed applying for both roles.
“It was kind of a sweet spot,” Dr. Newell recalled. “We got to stay in Jefferson City. And we could follow the mission God gave us when we got married.”
The board hired them in the Spring of 2021. Dr. Newell started as executive director that July, and the couple moved into the house the following month.
“So, God’s timing turned out to be totally different from ours,” Dr. Newell stated. “He was doing things his own way. We just didn’t know it yet.”
God provides
As house parents, the Newells do for the children what all parents typically do: “getting kids to school, getting them home, getting them to appointments during the week, basketball practices and games and the like,” said Dr. Newell.
In addition, her work as director requires about 30 hours per week.
“Both roles are very different,” she said. “So, it feels like a mom going to work during the day and picking up her kids after she finishes at the office.”
Dr. and Mr. Newell are amazed at how quickly they fell in love with the children.
She said they’ve both learned a lot about trusting God and making the best use of the gifts he’s given them.
“God asks a lot of us, and you know that picking up his cross is going to be hard or life-changing,” she stated.
“Once you’re in it, it’s just crazy life-changing!” she said. “You realize that he’s going to supplement whatever you need at the time.
“God has always provided the joy or compassion or patience we’ve needed in a really amazing way,” she said.
“The most Christ-like thing”
As houseparents, the Newells make decisions in close consultation with each child’s parents or guardians, along with teachers at St. Peter School, to help promote stability and success for the child.
“We have a strong relationship with (the parents and guardians) and are sure to include them in all of our decision-making,” said Dr. Newell.
“We give them time to speak, and they know they’re being heard and that we can help them.”
It’s a long-term commitment, right up until the student graduates from high school.
She lauded the families who realize they need help providing an environment that’s more conducive to growth and success — and make the commitment to work with St. Nicholas Academy to make it happen.
“I personally think the most Christ-like thing a mother or grandmother or guardian can do is recognize that they need help in providing their kid with an opportunity,” said Dr. Newell.
“It’s honestly one of the most sacrificial and loving things I’ve ever seen anyone do, to be able to identify that ‘I need extra help co-parenting, and this is an opportunity for my child to get an amazing education,’” she stated.
Love from God
The previous houseparents, Unique and Funtez Robinson, now serve as respite parents.
Mr. Robinson works with the boys after school.
Dr. Newell was quick to point out the close ties between St. Nicholas Academy and the larger community.
“As houseparents, we couldn’t do life without St. Peter’s — the teachers and the staff and their administration,” she said. “I just want to thank them. As our broader community, they’re just incredible.”
The board and administration are preparing to open a separate home for girls. This will require raising enough money for another building and hiring more houseparents.
“St. Nicholas Academy is successful and thriving now, and we’re looking to get more support,” Dr. Newell said.
She said that she and her husband rely heavily on God for inspiration.
“I am a prayer warrior,” she said. “It can be very easy in a job like this to run out of patience if you’re not asking for it at every moment ... or to run out of love or joy if you’re not asking for it every moment.
“So I ask for it when I know I’m about to run out of it,” she stated. “Because I couldn’t do this job without that intervention.”
She noted that she and Mr. Newell have a fantastic partnership and instinctively recognize when it’s time for one to hand the baton to the other.
God is very much at work at St. Nicholas Academy.
“It’s really cool to see the children grow in their relationship with God,” she said. “For them to know that Jesus knows and loves them. And for them to know that the love we show for them is from God. That’s why we’re here.”
When the boys go home to spend time with their families, they bring that love with them and share it.
Dr. Newell said the boys, by their example, instruct the houseparents on resilience, forgiveness and finding the strength to heal and overcome difficulties.
She asked for prayers for each of the children at St. Nicholas Academy to discover how God sees them and to be filled with his love and self-respect.
She also suggested praying for her and her husband to remain joyful and patient houseparents.
“And for the board and all the community members, that they just continue to pour love into this,” she added.
“We have such a tremendous community around us — that they continue to love us and take care of us.”
