Forming Disciples of Christ

Joey Jegier
Sep 24, 2025
2 min read

Updated: Sep 25, 2025

At Holy Redeemer, our mission is simple: form disciples of Christ, students who excel both in and out of the classroom.

You can read our full mission statement here. In short, we want our students to grow in faith, academic excellence, leadership, and service.

How do we make that happen? If you ask our dean of students, Ms. Ilov, she’ll tell you it’s about creating a culture where students are recognized not only for their academic achievements, but also for the kind of person they are becoming.

A New Way to Celebrate Students

This year, Ms. Ilov partnered with GPS Solutions to introduce a positive behavior intervention system (PBIS) that highlights students for living out Gospel values. Instead of being noticed only when something goes wrong, students are now celebrated when they are “caught being good.”

Every time a student is recognized, they earn a mark toward ACTS, a framework based on our mission that outlines the “Portrait of a Disciple.” The ACTS framework was created by Ms. Ilov, Sr. Kateri (our principal), Sr. Mary Rose (Volunteer Coordinator), and Lauren Berkley (GPS Solutions). The ACTS framework describes the kind of person we want our students to become.

What Does ACTS Mean?

The acronym ACTS reflects the heart of our mission:

A – Academic Scholar: Strives to know and live the truth of God's love joyfully through the Catholic faith.
C – Catholic Disciple: Strives to know and live the truth of God's love joyfully through the Catholic faith.
T – Teacher: Aspires to reflect the truth by encouraging others and practicing Gospel values through words and actions.
S – Servant Leader: Leads others to the truth through generous and compassionate service.

As Ms. Ilov explains, “we want children to be growing as disciples, caring and compassionate.”

Benefits for Teachers and Students

For teachers, ACTS does require extra work at first. But over time, it helps create classrooms where students are more motivated to behave well and take responsibility for themselves, leading to fewer discipline issues. To prepare for ACTS, teachers received professional development before the start of school and met again a month later to strengthen implementation.

For students, ACTS means their good behaviors don’t go unnoticed. Students who earn marks are featured in morning announcements and parent newsletters. Additionally, for every ten marks earned, they receive one letter from ACTS. Finally, teachers use the ACTS framework to nominate Students of the Month. Our students experience school as a place where their kindness, leadership, and effort are rewarded.

Living With the Heart of a Disciple

By the time students graduate from Holy Redeemer, our hope is that they are not only academically prepared, but spiritually formed – ready to live with the heart of a disciple. The ACTS program is helping us get there.