In 1951 when Bobbie Hicks joined the staff of St. Elizabeth School in Chicago, Harry Truman was president and color television was making its debut. She was making her own kind of debut as the first African-American layperson to teach in a Catholic school in the Archdiocese of Chicago. It was because of that milestone that Catholic school students honored her at the 38th-annual African-American Heritage Prayer Service Feb. 26 at Holy Name Cathedral, and gave her two standing ovations. The 92-year-old’s career in Catholic schools spanned 44 years and included St. Elizabeth, St. James (Wabash Avenue), St. Procopius, St. Frances Cabrini, Resurrection and St. Martin de Porres. The desire to be a teacher came to her when she was just in second grade. Hicks was teaching in public schools when a religious sister from St. Elizabeth asked her to come and teach. “Since my children went to St. Elizabeth I decided that it was a good move,” she said. Hicks stayed there until the school found another sister to replace her. At the time, Catholic schools were mostly staffed by religious women. Next, she moved to St. James. “That’s how I got to different schools. They always told me when a nun was coming,” Hicks said. Her last move was to Resurrection School, where she worked for 26 years. Over the years, she received cards and letters from parents and students thanking her for being a good teacher and for also teaching them black history. At each school she recalls teaching the students the “black national anthem,” “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” Being the first African-American lay teacher in archdiocesan schools wasn’t something she thought much about. “I had heard the rumor for a long time [that she was the first],” she said. While she has an award from the archdiocese for her many years of service to the schools, nothing said she was the first black teacher. “This has been the first time that they let me know that,” she said. In accepting the African-American Heritage Award, Hicks told the students to work hard and do their best. “Teachers are very important in your life,” she told the young people. “Everybody — doctors, lawyers — has had a teacher. Whatever you plan to do in your life, listen to your teacher.”
Cardinal Cupich visits school that held mock conclave On the morning of June 2, Cardinal Cupich, dressed in a red cassock and wearing a red zucchetto, joined the student “cardinals” at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy to see a reenactment of their now-viral mock conclave and to answer their questions about the real conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.
Local school’s mock conclave goes viral around the globe Two days before Pope Leo XIV, a native Chicagoan who is a member of the Augustinian religious community, was elected the 267th pope by the College of Cardinals, students at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Academy elected their own native Chicagoan in a mock conclave, and the student elected took the name “Augustine” when he accepted his election.
St. Ann School receives $97,000 from Big Shoulders Fund St. Ann School Principal Kathleen Fox credits a school culture that emphasizes ongoing learning and making sure each students feels that they are known and valued for its growth in test scores and other academic measures.