Bishop Chatard High School
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| District | Archdiocese of Indianapolis Office of Catholic Education |
| School type | Parochial |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Opened | September 1961 |
| Location | Indianapolis, Indiana, USA |
| Enrollment 2006-2007 | 900 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Campus surroundings | Residential |
| School Mascot | Trojans |
| School colors | Blue and White |
| School Hours | 7:40 AM to 3:00 PM |
| Average Class Size | 24 students |
| Graduation Rate | 98 Percent |
Bishop Chatard High School is a Catholic co-educational prepratory high school located in the Broad Ripple district of Indianapolis, Indiana in the United States. It is named after Bishop Silas Chatard, who was the first Bishop of Indianapolis, and oversaw the movement of the diocese from Vincennes to Indianapolis in 1898.
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[edit] School History
The increase in Indiana's Catholic population that triggered the splitting of the Indianapolis diocese in 1944[1] also caused an increase in the need for Catholic schools. The only co-educational diocesian high school in Indianapolis, Scecina Memorial High School, was extremely popular following its opening in 1957. It was clear that one high school would not be sufficient to provide for Indianapolis' massively expanding Catholic population.
To this end, the Archbishop of Indianapolis, Paul Schulte, ordered the construction of three new Catholic high schools in the city. The first of these, Bishop Chatard, would serve the north side of Indianapolis. The two other new schools, Roncalli High School, now a superior high school, and Cardinal Ritter High School, would serve the south and west sides of Indianapolis respectively. Scecina would continue to serve the east side of the city.
Ground was broken for the first of the schools, Bishop Chatard, in the fall of 1960 on diocese property at the corner of Crittenden and Kessler Avenues. Construction of the school and an adjacent convent was completed in less than a year, and the first students were admitted in September, 1961.
Each year a class of students was added to the school, and the first graduating class was the class of 1964-65. Over the years, improvements were made to the school facility as the number of students rose.
Initially, classes were taught almost entirely by priests from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and Benedictine Sisters of Beech Grove. Many sisters were housed in the convent on-site, but their numbers declined to the point that in the 1970s, their convent was converted to an annex of the school. The annex has served as classroom, office and storage space for thirty years, and was recently rededicated to the Sisters as the St. Benedict Center.
By 1997, the school was showing its age. Paint was peeling, windows and roofs were leaky, and facilities sorely needed an upgrade. To remedy the situation and remodel the 35 year-old building, school administrators embarked on a $2 million capital campaign to pay for new windows, a new roof, electrical improvements, and other sorely-needed renovations. These were undertaken over the summer, and when students arrived to begin the 1997-1998 school year, they were in what was virtually a whole new building.
In 1999, the improvements continued with the opening of the new fine arts addition. A new band room, art studio, and library were added, as were six new classrooms and an elevator to make the building handicap-accessible. This was paid for by a $1.5 million building drive made possible by alumni donations.
The current renovation plan, begun in the summer of 2005, involves the construction of an additional elevator to allow better access to classrooms for handicapped students. The next stage of renovation and expansion will involve the construction of a new auxiliary gymnasium. The expansion will be paid for by alumni donations and a slight tuition increase. This renovation promises to create an exciting environment for future sports events as well as ensuring that students will continue to enjoy Chatard's small average class sizes.
[edit] Mission statement
Bishop Chatard High School, the archdiocesan secondary school of the North Deanery parishes, exists to develop the academic, spiritual, physical and social potential of its students within a community rooted in the Gospel and Catholic teachings, traditions and moral values. As an extension of the family, we seek to instill feelings of self-worth and confidence in our students while challenging them to value each individual in society and to cultivate the ideal of service. We believe that by embracing a diverse population, individual differences and abilities, we build a true community that enables us to prepare our students for the immediate challenges of college or the work place, and a life-long commitment to faith, education, leadership and service.
[edit] Athletics
Over the last few years, Bishop Chatard has amassed a total of nine state championships: seven football, one men's basketball, and one volleyball state championship. Chatard is one of two Indiana high schools to win a football and basketball championship in the same academic year.
- Football (2A) (1983)
- Football (2A) (1984)
- Football (3A) (1997)
- Football (3A) (1998)
- Football (3A) (2001)
- Football (3A) (2002)
- Football (3A) (2003)
- Men's Basketball (3A) (2003)
- Women's Volleyball (2004)
- Football (3A) State Runners-up (2005)
- Football (3A) (2006)
In addition to varsity sports, Chatard students are active in intramurals as well. Over 80 percent of Chatard students participate in intramural sports like basketball, softball, kickball, bowling, and lacrosse. Chatard also competes annually in the Brain Game, a Sunday-morning quiz bowl program broadcast on local television, and features quality fine arts programs, such as the Bishop Chatard Marching Trojans, concert band, pep band, jazz band, concert choir, show choir, and the Bishop Chatard Thespian Society.
Despite all these accomplishments, Bishop Chatard High School emphasizes academics first, and athletics second.
[edit] Classes
Chatard offers a variety of classes, including Chemistry, Physics, Anatomy, Geometry, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Ceramics, Genetics, Biology, Earth Space, Chem/Phys, World History, U.S. History, Government, Economics, Spanish I-V, French I-V, Latin I-III, Precalculus, Band, Web Design, Religion, AP Calculus, AP Statistics, Drawing, and English, to name just a few.
[edit] 2006-2007
For the 2006-2007 schoolyear, Chatard installed an elevator in the lobby, as well as hired ten new teachers. They have renovated the cafeteria, hallways, and a few classrooms. To replace the two temporary classrooms in the cafeteria lost during renovation, they have installed a double-wide trailer to teach Academic Pre-Calculus in. The schoolyear began August 15th. Their homecoming game was on October 6th at Broad Ripple High School.
