Blessed Santiago Miller School of Trade and Technology to open in Saint Paul in 2028
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota (Saint Mary’s) today announced plans to expand access to skilled-trades education by creating a Catholic high school of trade and technology in Saint Paul. Named after Blessed Santiago Miller, the school plans to welcome its inaugural class of freshmen in 2028.
“For more than a year, the Board of Trustees and I have been considering how Saint Mary’s can respond authentically and distinctively to the changing educational, workforce, and societal needs of our time while remaining faithful to who we are as a Lasallian Catholic university,” said Saint Mary’s president Father James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D.
“From that discernment emerged the vision for the Blessed Santiago Miller School of Trade and Technology: an innovative extension of our educational mission that affirms the dignity of skilled work, creates new pathways for young people whose talents and vocations may not be best served by a traditional college-preparatory model, and responds to significant needs within our communities and the workforce.”
In response to this vision, a group of anonymous benefactors stepped forward with a transformational, restricted gift, providing the foundation for launching the initiative. This funding will be used to purchase property and fund the initial operating budget, including salaries, maintenance, security, insurance, and related expenses for the first several positions necessary to develop the School.
To provide leadership for the planning and development of the Blessed Santiago Miller Trade School, Saint Mary’s hired Mary Spring as director of Secondary School Initiatives. Spring, who formerly served as principal of Lourdes High School in Rochester, Minn., is a seasoned high school administrator with decades of experience in the secondary education sector. She is supported by an Advisory Council with expertise across education, the skilled trades, business, workforce development, philanthropy, and Catholic education.
“The vision is generating significant interest among individual donors, partners and foundations – including people who may not yet have heard of Saint Mary’s,” said Spring. “They are drawn to the mission and realize the value trade education gives to students and ultimately, the communities in which they live.”
Saint Mary’s is under agreement to buy two campuses from St. Francis de Sales Parish in Saint Paul: the St. Francis de Sales Campus (650 Palace Avenue) and the St. James Campus (496 View Street). The St. Francis Campus, which includes a school building, church, rectory and parish offices, will be the initial trade school grounds, while the St. James Campus gives the trade school room for potential growth. The parish is keeping the St. James Church building, but the school, convent and rectory will become part of the Blessed Santiago Miller Trade School. The archdiocese owns the convent on the St. Francis de Sales Campus, and that structure is not part of the sale.
Beginning in 2028, students in ninth grade will begin to prepare for employment, industry credentials, apprenticeships, and continued education while also having the opportunity to earn a defined number of college credits through Saint Mary’s University as part of their high school experience.
The model is intended to create multiple pathways rather than a single definition of postsecondary success. For students who wish to continue their education, coursework and credentials can provide a foundation for further study at Saint Mary’s; for others, the school will provide a direct and well-prepared pathway into the skilled trades and technical workforce. In doing so, the initiative both restores an important form of Catholic secondary education and gives new educational life to two historic Catholic school properties in Saint Paul.
Blessed Santiago Miller was a De La Salle Christian Brother, a graduate of Saint Mary’s, and later a member of the faculty at both Saint Mary’s and Cretin High School (now Cretin-Derham Hall) in Saint Paul. He was affectionately known as “Brother Fix-It” because of his remarkable practical ability to build, repair, and solve problems with his hands. He later devoted himself to Lasallian education and service to the poor in Central America and was martyred in Guatemala in 1982.
“He is, in many respects, an extraordinary patron for this undertaking: a Saint Mary’s alumnus, educator, Christian Brother, skilled worker, missionary, and martyr whose life brought together faith, education, practical skill, service, and concern for those on the margins,” said Father Burns. “His name grounds this new School unmistakably in our own history and in the Lasallian Catholic tradition we seek to carry forward.”
Media inquiries
Ashly Bissen, senior director of Communications
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
abissen@smumn.edu | 507-457-8692
About Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
As a Catholic university animated by the Lasallian charism, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota awakens, nurtures, and empowers learners to ethical lives of service and leadership. Whether in person or online, adult or undergraduate, students are treated with respect, taught with humanity, and supported by faculty and staff committed to their success in programs designed to prepare graduates for today’s and tomorrow’s careers. Founded in 1912 and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota enrolls thousands of students at its undergraduate and graduate programs on campuses in Minneapolis, Rochester, Winona, and online. Saint Mary’s offers a highly personal, real-world-ready educational experience that fully prepares students to work, lead, and serve with character and purpose. Learn more at smumn.edu. For more information on the Blessed Santiago Miller School of Trade and Technology, visit Skilled Trades Education | Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.
