Brother Dale Mooney, a De La Salle Christian Brother, has specialized all his life in helping educate young people in extremely difficult circumstances.
For the past 11 years, he has served as president of the De La Salle Blackfeet School for fourth through eighth graders, like the student he is pictured with below, on the Blackfeet Nation reservation in Browning, Montana.
The school helps prepare them emotionally and academically for high school. Only 12 percent of students in the public elementary school in Browning are proficient in reading and math, according to U.S. News & World Report. Brother Dale said this means by the time some fourth graders enter the school, they are so far behind that they cannot yet even identify the letters of the alphabet. These are precisely the students he and his dedicated team seek to help.
It is not an easy task, but Brother Dale was uniquely prepared for this special mission.
Learning what sacrifice means
Born in a German family, Brother Dale grew up on a farm in Arcadia, Iowa. He woke up every day at 5:15 a.m. to milk the cows. His upbringing taught him that faith, hard work and sacrifice are the pillars of a life well lived.
He joined the De La Salle Christian Brothers after high school and began his teaching ministry in Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri.
In 1982 Brother Dale’s religious community sent him to work at a rural school in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, at the height of the country’s bloody civil war.
For the next 12 years he taught hundreds of young Indigenous men. Brother Dale witnessed brutal repressions and even personally knew some missionaries who were martyred, including fellow Americans Father Stanley Rother and Brother James Miller. Many of Brother Dale’s students had parents who were “disappeared,” that is, abducted and assassinated secretly, never to be found.
“I was very much aware that my life was not guaranteed,” Brother Dale said of his time in Guatemala.
But I felt there were people who depended on me.”
Education that transforms lives
Brother Dale returned to the United States and worked for 16 years in Kansas City. There, he helped start a Cristo Rey Catholic high school, giving students from Hispanic, working-class families opportunities to go to college.
Eleven years ago, he was named president of De La Salle Blackfeet School in Browning—a place he had never been to or imagined he would end up. The school is associated with Little Flower Parish. Catholic Extension Society has supported this faith community serving the Blackfeet people for more than five decades.
When Brother Dale first arrived on the Blackfeet Nation reservation, he encountered families that were impacted by historical trauma and struggling with substance abuse, unemployment and suicides.
Brother Dale said the weight of these hardships can be overwhelming. Only 60 percent of Native students enrolled in the reservation’s public schools graduate high school. Yet De La Salle Blackfeet School has nearly a 100 percent graduation rate for its students.
Brother Dale and his devoted team do this by earning the respect of the community and parents. They are attentive to what is happening in students’ personal lives outside the classroom. They have morning check-ins with students where they assess how they are feeling. They are trained to hold talking circles in the classroom when conflicts arise.
In these situations, students open up about their challenges. This helps the students “ask for help when they need it,” Brother Dale said.
One-on-one tutoring and excellent school athletics also contribute to the school’s formula for success.
Every day, Brother Dale models to the children what it means to serve.
The students adore him, as can be seen in this heartfelt letter from an eighth grader:
Many alumni have gone into wonderful and fulfilling professions. One of his past students is starting a doctorate degree in Indigenous health. Another has even joined his teaching staff. Witnessing these outcomes is what keeps Brother Dale going.
He said, “To see a student coming into fourth grade and staying with us and working through everything, and then seeing them move on and be successful in high school—as a teacher, there is nothing that gives greater pleasure than that.”
Catholic Extension Society is honored to share the story of Brother Dale Mooney, a finalist for our Lumen Christi Award. This award is Catholic Extension Society’s highest honor given to people who radiate and reveal the light of Christ present in the communities where they serve. Visit this page to read the other inspiring stories from this year’s finalists.
Please consider supporting ministries like Brother Dale’s by donating today!
