A long ride to high school

>Editor's note: This is the first of an occasional series about Michael Montgomery and Danielle Ernie, who chose to leave their hometowns of Poplar Bluff and Ellington to attend Notre Dame Regional High School as freshmen.

Michael Montgomery was sore. And according to his host mom, maybe a bit grumpy.

He had been through a week of soccer practices. He was in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar people, his bags still unpacked in the middle of his room. And he was 90 minutes from his home in Poplar Bluff.

Danielle Ernie arrived a few weeks after Michael, the Sunday before school started. She brought a bedspread, some knickknacks and several photos to remind her of the family and friends she left back in Ellington, a two-hour drive from her new school. She left behind her entire family and a best friend she'd had since she was in grade school. New to her faith -- she is not yet confirmed -- new to high school, new to Cape Girardeau, she appreciates her new host family but keeps her cell phone handy. She calls her mom, Melanie Aldana, every day.

Danielle started her Catholic confirmation classes close to two years ago, a decision she made on her own, at a church 40 minutes for her home in Ellington.

She says she is looking forward to her confirmation this coming Easter.

Michael and Danielle met at a summer Catholic camp called "Whole Kids Outreach" last summer.

"We were immediate friends," Danielle said.

Both found themselves in similar situations, both wanting a Catholic school experience but both living in southern Missouri towns where there were no Catholic schools. Michael had already planned to attend Notre Dame. Danielle quickly became interested as well.

Now they're part of a first for Notre Dame -- the first students ever to enroll from out of town, stay with host families during the week, then go home for weekends.

New Friends, New Families

Danielle says her socializing during the week makes up for the events she misses on the weekends. Soccer games and other sporting events are a few of the places she spends time with her new friends outside of the regular school day.

"It was really easy to make new friends. Everyone was really nice to me," Danielle said.

Both families contacted principal Brother David Migliorino about where their children would live. Migliorino said he immediately thought of the James family in Cape Girardeau and the Lackner family in Jackson.

"There's always other children at the James house," he said.

Michael, a middle child, said he has had a few spats with Jarod James over "stupid little things" but nothing major.

Michael said life in the James home is about the same for him.

The hardest part, he said, was getting used to his mom and sister not always being around and having to call home instead of yelling down the hallway.

"I talk to everybody," Michael said. "It is not hard to make friends."

The Lackners have a daughter, Katie, who is a junior at Notre Dame. Migliorino thought Katie would make a good big sister for Danielle.

"I like it because I've always wanted a big sister," Danielle said.

Having a new big sister feels like she has gotten one of her three wishes granted, she said.

Migliorino also thought Katie's mom, Janet, would be able to share the excitement and novelty of what it is like to be a freshman with Danielle.

College-level academics

Had Danielle started her freshman year in Ellington, she would have been the only Catholic in her entire school.

"Everyone at my school was Baptist, and it was hard because I was a totally different faith than they were," she said.

Meeting Michael was a eye-opening experience for Danielle because she was finally able to discuss her faith with someone her own age.

"I wasn't feeling like it was wrong," she said.

After Michael told her about all of the opportunities at Notre Dame, Danielle approached her mother about attending the school and living with a host family during the week.

It would have been selfish not to let her go, Aldana said, because Ellington doesn't offer as many opportunities to prepare for college-level academics.

Danielle, who wants to be a pediatrician, said Notre Dame has given her the opportunity to make that dream more of a reality.

Spanish and English are Danielle's favorite subjects. Her stepfather is from Peru, and she wants to be able to talk to his family in Spanish.

Michael is less focused on academics, and has had a hard time forcing himself to sit down and get his homework done every night. But he is learning to budget his time better, he said.

As for class, he said he has come close to getting into trouble for talking when he should be paying attention.

Danielle's grades are not as good as she would like them to be. She thinks the root cause is that she's still adjusting to living away from home.

The amount of homework they have each night is more than both Michael and Danielle expected. Michael said he sometimes ends up finishing his homework in the early mornings before classes start.

Claudia Preuschoff, Michael's mother, looked at schools in St. Louis and in Memphis, but ultimately decided Notre Dame was best for her son.

She took note of the courses offered and the colleges Notre Dame students attended after high school as well as what kind of scores they receive on college admittance tests. All of that information played a part in her decision, Preuschoff said.

Sending Michael to Notre Dame was an opportunity for him not only to get an a good education but a faith-based education with better scholastic opportunities than he had locally, Preuschoff said.

Away from home

Michael and his mother are finding it difficult to cram a week's worth of communication and activities into a two-day weekend. Preuschoff said the driving is hard on her as well. Sending him off to high school felt very much like sending him off to college, she said.

"I miss him terribly, but I do think we made the right decision. He seems to be doing well, and he seems to be thriving in school."

There are some days when Aldana calls to wake up Danielle, and they talk every day. Aldana also talks with Danielle's host mother, Janet Lackner, every day.

"We have a lot of the same views, and I think that made it a more comfortable situation," Lackner said.

Michael's host mother, Sherri James, talked with her family and with Michael and his mother and concluded Michael would test their limits. James said Preuschoff told her the best form of disciplinary action would be to start taking away privileges.

"We have not had to do anything, but the options are there if we need them." James said.

One of the biggest differences for Michael is that the James family does not have nearly the number of pets his family has on their 20 acres in Poplar Bluff.

"There's not as much space," Michael said of the James home. "I like having space."

Expenses

Michael and Danielle were serious about attending a Catholic high school. Based on the financial sacrifice their parents are making, they were serious about their education as well.

Tuition at Notre Dame alone costs between $3,000 and $4,875 a year. Then there is the cost of lunch and spending money. The host families have extra costs too. They help take care of groceries, extra utilities and gas.

Preuschoff gives the Jameses money for food, but that amount doesn't cover the cost of extra utilities or going out or gas money, James said.

James knew they would have to cover some extra expenses.

Danielle's mom gives the Lackners some money for gas, but Danielle gets an allowance of $100 a week to help cover extra expenses such as going out to eat and school lunches.

"We don't make it a hard rule if you don't have that money in your pocket then you can't go," Lackner said.

The host families, the students and the parents back home see the next nine months as an investment of time, energy and money. In the end, they all hope it's worth it.

ameyer@semissourian.com 335-6611 extension 127

---

The National Center for Education Statistics research indicates that Catholic school enrollment is on the decline. The percentage of private school students who attended Catholic schools decreased from 55 to 47 percent between school years 1989-90 and 2001-02.

This trend is reiterated by a 2.6 percent drop, about 63,662 students, in enrollment for the 2004-05 school year, the National Catholic Education Association announced in March.

By contrast, Notre Dame's student population is on the rise. This year's freshman class of 140 is the biggest class the school has ever had. By comparison, there are 116 sophomores, 115 juniors and 118 seniors at Notre Dame.