Loveland’s Blaise Hockel Appointed Inaugural Headmaster
The Board of Trustees of Chesterton Academy of St. John Paul II Catholic high school has announced it has appointed Mr. Blaise Hockel to serve as its inaugural Headmaster. Hockel, who lives in Loveland, is currently a teacher mentor and English literature and classics instructor at Bishop Machebeuf High School in Denver, CO
As he wraps up his current teaching duties, Hockel will transition to fulltime leadership of Northern Colorado’s first Catholic high school. Upon the school’s doors opening for the first time in August, Hockel will serve as the institution’s chief academic leader, and will also teach.
Hockel is a longstanding member of the Roman Catholic Church. He and his wife Kristen attend St. John XIII Catholic Church in Fort Collins. Hockel earned an undergraduate degree from Benedictine College, and a Master’s degree from The American College of Education, Chicago.
“We’re blessed to have found an excellent leader for Chesterton Academy of St. John Paul II,” said Deacon Rob Lanciotti, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. “Mr. Hockel’s years as a proven classroom instructor and his depth of knowledge of the history and doctrine of Catholic Church give him both the academic skills and the underpinnings in virtue necessary to lead what I expect will be one of Colorado’s best high schools.”
“I am humbled and honored to be asked to take on this profound role,” said Hockel. “A school like this has been long awaited in Northern Colorado, and I am excited to help establish it as a holy institution – one that will be recognized for its academic excellence, as a beacon of spiritual formation, and by the Christian character of its faculty, student body, and alumni.”
Chesterton Academy of St. John Paul II is already enrolling students for the 2020-21 school year. The school is starting with an inaugural freshman (9th-grade students) in August, and will add grades year-by-year through the twelfth grade.
Regional enrollment interest in adding a 10th grade is proving greater than the school expected; and, depending on whether a few more families pursue enrollment, the school may decide to add a 10th grade immediately, one year ahead of schedule.
Regardless, students of the inaugural Class of 2024 will convene this August in a temporary, start-up location at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church in Windsor. Planning is underway to secure a permanent location conducive to serving students from Greeley, Loveland, Fort Collins, Longmont, and all communities in the broader Northern Colorado region.
Headmaster Hockel’s initial objectives are to hire classroom instructors, facilitate the enrollment process, and unfold the school’s classical Catholic, liberal-arts, college-preparatory curriculum.
All students, regardless of faith, are welcomed to join, be educated, embraced, and loved by the school. Though the school aims to serve Northern Colorado’s Catholic families, its doors are graciously open to families of all faiths.
The school is sanctioned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Denver and enjoys the blessing of Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila. More information about the school can be found on its website www.chestertonjpii.org.
Chesterton Academy of St. John Paul II is a private, tuition-funded Catholic high school serving Northern Colorado. The school is temporarily located in Windsor, Colorado. The school’s Headmaster is Mr. Blaise Hockel.