OTTAWA — Ottawa’s historic Dominican University College has found a seamless continuation over the past year as Campus Saint-Jean-Baptiste, a French Catholic school which will carry forward the site’s legacy of faith, learning and community in the heart of Centretown.
The Conseil des écoles Catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE) saw its first Grade 9 cohort join the school this month, marking Saint-Jean Baptiste’s expansion into secondary education.
The site, complete with the 125-year-old Dominican University College, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church and the Dominican Convent, was purchased in May of last year with the hopes of addressing what was a long-standing need for a francophone Catholic high school in Ottawa’s core.
“For us, this was a great way to offer continuity between elementary learning in a Catholic setting and to continue that on into high school. Having our students able to access a school in their community that is much closer, has less busing times, especially for francophone schools that are a bit more dispersed, has been incredible,” said Marc Bertrand, the board’s director of education.
Bertrand said the CECCE, the largest French-language school board in Canada outside Quebec, had been in conversation with the Dominicans for many years. While the sale marks the end of one of Ottawa’s prestigious higher-education staples, the continuation of the campus’s new life as Saint-Jean Baptiste is a welcome outcome, a reality helped by the site’s approval as a heritage designation by the Built Heritage Committee and by Ottawa City Council in July.
“It just made sense,” the director told The Catholic Register. “We were very excited to be able to purchase the property and continue our collaboration with the Dominican brothers. In the hands of a developer, this could have been a whole other story. In our hands, we’ll continue the rich tradition of Catholic and francophone teachings.”
Last year, the school opened as a satellite campus of Collège Catholique Franco-Ouest with initial Grade 7 and 8 classes, enrolling upwards of 16 students. Since then, Saint-Jean Baptiste has seen strong interest, particularly in Grade 7, with expectations of forming at least two classes per grade level in the near future. This fall, 57 students are currently attending Campus Saint-Jean Baptiste in Grades 7 to 9.
“We are doing something right, and I think we are one of the best choices for families, not only our programming, but also how we are able to respond to a need and offer to the community the space for a school that is desperately needed in that area,” Bertrand said.
The board looks to preserve some of the legacy and history that was cemented by Dominican University College through its next form. The school’s name is a direct step towards honouring that history, and while it will be going through a new naming process this year, Bertrand predicts Saint-Jean Baptiste to be one of the front-runners, if not the most recommended.
CECCE also plans to maintain the school’s historic exterior, including its distinctive stone walls and overall aesthetic, with hopes of avoiding many external modifications despite internal renovations. Bertrand spoke to the beauty of the internal courtyard, on-site church and its accessibility to downtown and light rail transit.
With this year’s back-to-school season in full swing with the addition of Grade 9, Saint-Jean Baptiste hopes to continue adding one grade per year to eventually fully serve Grades 7 to 12.
As campus renovations continue to be finalized during the semester, the transformation from a 1900s house of theology to a modern francophone Catholic school marks CECCE’s and the Dominicans’ unwavering continuation of faith, education and community in the nation’s capital.
