St. Nicholas Academy to open residence for girls this summer
Now is a very acceptable time.
St. Nicholas Academy, which for seven years has been offering boys who are at-risk an environment that’s conducive to reaching their full potential, will open a separate residence for girls this summer.
“The story has been nothing but God,” said Michaela Newell, Ph.D., Executive Director of St. Nicholas Academy and housemom for the boys’ residence.
Elizabeth Huber, founder of St. Nicholas Academy and one of its principle benefactors, purchased what will become the girl’s residence in January of this year.
She recently entered an agreement for St. Nicholas Academy to lease the home from her for $1 a year.
“It all fell into place,” said Dr. Newell. “Everything has been a gift from God.”
Darian and Aileen Pruitt, newly appointed houseparents for the girls, will move into the residence on April 13, with the goal of welcoming two to four girls into the residence in July.
Open houses will be held at the girls’ residence on Tower Drive in Jefferson City from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, and from 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 25.
People are also invited to bring their shovels, wheelbarrows and other yard equipment to the home for a community Yard Day on Saturday, May 2.
People who wish to help furnish the home can find an Amazon list and donation wish lists at the St. Nicholas Academy website: Stnick.org.
The site also includes a link for donating money to the cause. Follow St. Nicholas Academy on Facebook for event updates.
Compassion, service, love
St. Nicholas Academy is a faith-based boarding school in Jefferson City that helps boys who are at-risk reach their full potential.
It is an independent 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization, governed by a board of directors.
Its 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.”
Dr. Newell and her husband, Kyrell Newell, serve as houseparents to five boys, ages 10 to 15, who now live at the academy.
All of them attend St. Peter School in Jefferson City and receive an excellent education in a loving faith-filled family environment.
Two of the boys will continue on to Helias Catholic High School this fall.
Mrs. 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.
One of the most powerful incentives St. Nicholas Academy offers for success is a family environment where the boys experience love and structure throughout their day.
That environment allows the students to be themselves and thrive in the manner God intends for them.
Counselors in local school districts and the Central Missouri Foster Care & 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.”
“Incredible conversation”
All the boys enrolled at St. Nicholas Academy have parents or guardians living in or near Jefferson City, as will be the case for the girls.
They spend most of their time at school, at extracurricular activities and in the St. Nicholas Academy residence, where they sleep and have their meals and down time.
The academy also includes a year-round program with summer activities that provide many growth-filled experiences.
The Newells became houseparents at St. Nicholas in the Spring of 2021. Dr. Newell started as executive director that July, and the couple moved into the house the following month.
The houseparents 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.
It’s a long-term commitment, right up until the student graduates from high school.
Dr. Newell admires 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 think our relationship with the guardians is special,” she said. “I consider it an honor and a privilege to be doing what we’re doing. I really enjoy co-parenting with them. And that’s really what we’re doing.”
She acknowledged that being a housemom can be tough.
“It’s not always clean or pretty, that’s for sure,” she stated.
But five years into hers and her husband’s commitment to this endeavor — which they’re both convinced is a ministry — they’ve recognized God hard at work, helping the boys become the fullness of who he created them to be.
Dr. Newell noted that when St. Nicholas Academy first opened, the two biggest obstacles were finding houseparents and gaining the trust and support of the people whose children would benefit from this unique arrangement.
Last November, she got a call from a longtime friend, Aileen Pruitt.
“Aileen and her husband Darian have been prayerfully with us for our whole journey,” Dr. Newell noted.
Mr. Pruitt was the Boys Program Manager for HALO Jefferson City, an after-school program.
“Aileen told me that she and Darian have been praying for a couple of years. They decided whenever the girls’ home opens, they want to be part of that as houseparents,” Dr. Newell recalled.
Dr. Newell was shocked.
“It was an incredible conversation,” she said. “At that time, my board had just done preliminary work on a strategic planning process for the first quarter of 2026. We were hoping that would lead to welcoming girls to St. Nicholas Academy in 2027 or ’28.”
A week later, Dr. Newell reported all of this to Mrs. Huber over lunch.
“We talked about how I had gotten referrals of girls, but we don’t have a place for them, so I refer them to other organizations,” Dr. Newell recalled. “I told her about Darian and Aileen. We talked about how we have the trust of the community.”
Mrs. Huber said that since the two biggest obstacles for opening St. Nicholas Academy to girls had been met, “we’re going house shopping next week!”
“The Holy Spirit is with her,” Dr. Newell asserted. “She and I have been dreaming of a girls’ home for a long time.”
Time and place
It had taken a while for the Newells, the St. Nicholas Board of Directors and all of the benefactors to lay the foundation for this.
“We needed to be growing at the right speed,” Dr. Newell noted. “We needed to get a foundation for our nonprofit and get our accreditation. We needed to become a healthy nonprofit first and grow at a healthy rate.”
Not expecting to find any available real estate right away, and convinced that any home would need a year’s worth of renovations to bring it into compliance with accreditation requirements, Dr. Newell dove into the housing market with Mrs. Huber.
“The first home we walked into was utterly perfect,” said Dr. Newell. “Almost beyond belief. We couldn’t believe it. The price was right. It’s less than half mile from our boys’ home. The layout is perfect, down to the smallest details. We don’t have to rearrange the layout of the house to meet our standards for accreditation.”
Dr. Newell noted that expanding St. Nicholas Academy to girls will require an additional $200,000 to be raised each year.
“But there’s no doubt in my mind that that is going to come,” she said. “Our board knows it’s going to come, and I’ve never felt so sure of anything else we’ve taken on.”
She said Archbishop Shawn McKnight, who led the Jefferson City diocese from 2018 to 2025 and blessed St. Nicholas Academy’s boys’ residence in 2023, was helpful in promoting financial stability and solid policies and procedures.
She recently met with Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell and is excited to work with him.
“I felt like a little kid sitting around the fire, listening to Jesus tell parables,” she said. “You can tell the lens that he sees the world and his leadership through is the lens of Jesus Christ.”
Bishop O’Donnell hopes to bless the girls’ residence in May.
Call to prayer
Dr. Newell asked for prayers for the ongoing success of St. Nicholas Academy; for strength and wisdom for the Pruitts and their family; and for the Holy Spirit to send students who will benefit the most from this opportunity.
“And for God to keep showing up as we need him!” she said. “For provision — through finances, some amazing donors; for the house to fill up; for those mini gifts to be blessed by the Holy Spirit as they come into that house.”
“And that our kids are continually being introduced to Christ on a daily basis,” she added. “Whether through us or through their school, their church or through the Bible studies they take part in, that they’re seeing Christ in their everyday life.”
