Brooklyn Preparatory School

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Brooklyn Prep (Brooklyn Preparatory School) was a highly selective Catholic High School that was founded by the Jesuit order in 1908. Admission was based on scoring high on the "Coops" the predecessor to TACHS. The school educated many generations of young Catholic men until its closing in 1972. Its graduates have attended Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Amherst, Cornell, Columbia, Fordham, RPI, Polytechnic Inst. of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Boston College, Holy Cross, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Berkeley, Univ. of Chicago and many other fine colleges and universities. The school was located on 1150 Carroll Street in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. The grounds and buildings are presently part of Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York (CUNY). Located next to the Prep was the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, which was also run by the Jesuits and which continues today.

As a Jesuit institution, Brooklyn Prep was noted for its religious values, classical roots (eg, Latin and Greek), and dress code (ties & jackets) - all part of its goal of turning out well-rounded, educated men. Most of its graduates went on to four year colleges. Many have been very successful in their chosen fields.

Among its noted alumni are:

Joe Paterno (Penn State coach)
Robert S. Bennett (Washington DC attorney)
Joseph Califano (former Secretary of Health, Education & Welfare)
John Sexton (President of New York University)
William Peter Blatty (author of "The Exorcist")
Jack Hofsiss (director of "The Elephant Man")
John Dockery (set Ivy League record at Harvard for returning interception 102 yards, played with the New York Jets in the American Football League, and has been broadcasting sports on TV.)
Bill Carter (New York Times TV columnist and author of several books on TV)
Pete Gillen (former basketball coach at Xavier, Providence and Virginia and TV sports commentator)
Joseph M. McLaughlin (Senior Appellate Judge, Second Circuit)
Ken Charles (All-American basketball player at Fordham, NBA player and coach in USBL)

Curtis Sliwa (founder of the Guardian Angels) attended but did not graduate from the school. Noted faculty members included: Fr. Anthony J. Pavone, SJ (author of several religious books) and varsity basketball coach John C. Lawn who went on to become Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator, COO of the New York Yankees and CEO of The Century Council.

The Brooklyn Prep Alumni Association keeps the memory of the school alive by hosting an Annual Alumni Dinner in New York City; and by an Alumni Association Fund, which donates collected monies for scholarships and educational causes.

The school's memory is also kept alive by Brooklyn Jesuit Prep, a small school for elementary age children, in Crown Heights, Brooklyn

The 100th anniversary of the school will be celebrated by alumni and former faculty in October 2008.

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