Just 10 years old, St. Thomas More Preparatory School is making a big splash in the world of Catholic education. The Magnolia school has been named one of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the United States.

Principal David McKenzie said the staff was surprised, pleasantly, at the honor.

“We are a small school and a young school. We don’t yet have the same name recognition as other districts that have been around a long time,” he said.

That may be about to change, now that Saint Thomas More has been listed as one of the best of the nation’s 1,300 Catholic high schools by international research and educational organization Acton Institute. Working with a national advisory board of Catholic college presidents and Catholic scholars, Acton published the list Nov. 10.

McKenzie said evaluators examined the school’s mission statement and academic record. They also want to see what kind of people leave St. Thomas More on graduation day. McKenzie said, “They want to that see we are producing good citizens, young men and women who understand what it is to be a good citizen.” The school emphasizes community service. Students are required to do 25 hours of community service per year, said McKenzie, and the average student performs 90 hours of community service.

Students are very involved with Special Olympics, said McKenzie.

They also work with Habitat for Humanity and many students work as tutors, while the school maintains certain streets. “Our students are involved in anything and everything young students can be involved in,” said McKenzie.

To be considered for the Catholic High School Honor Roll, schools must display a strong Catholic identity. At St. Thomas More, founded by the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington in 1998, that means students pray before each sport event and celebrate weekly Mass.

“It’s part of the atmosphere here,” said McKenzie.

They also go on retreats that are intended to strengthen the sense of faith and community, said McKenzie.

The school stresses diversity, and McKenzie calls the student body a community of faith. One-third of the students are non-Catholic, said McKenzie. Within the student body are representatives of all Protestant faiths, Judaism and Buddhism. “We want diversity in our school, and our school is enriched by being a community of believers,” said McKenzie.

Students also display the tenants of their faith in school every day. McKenzie said lockers are unlocked and the school is governed by a student honor board. Without a discipline teacher, students answer to their peers for offenses. Consequences are determined entirely by the student board, said McKenzie.

“We want a faith-filled, Christian, moral community,” said McKenzie, who has been principal of the school for three years.

During his tenure, enrollment has gone up 30 percent, he said. This year, 221 students are enrolled. The goal is to increase the student body to 500 within several years.

Students leaving the school, which has a 100 percent college attendance rate, will see the value of their diplomas go up, said McKenzie. “A diploma is worth more at this point because of this recognition. Colleges will take a second look at our students because our school has been recognized as an excellent institution,” he said.

Find St. Thomas More Preparatory online at www.saintmore.org or call the school at 302-697-8100.