Cathedral High School (El Paso, Texas)

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Cathedral High School is a private, Catholic high school for boys, in El Paso, Texas. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso which owns and administers the school.

1 Background
2 The Brothers
3 External links
4 Notes and References

[edit] Background

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Since its inception in 1925, Cathedral High School has existed to educate, and prepare young men to become leaders in the community. Rooted in the LaSallian tradition that reaches as far back as the seventeenth century, Cathedral strives to help students grow in faith and service through active participation in their worship communities. Though the school is owned and administered by the Diocese of El Paso the Brothers of the Christian Schools (known in the U.S. simply as the Christian Brothers) have been involved in the school since its foundation.

According to recent statistics, Cathedal High School has a population of just over 500, the vast majority (78%) being Hispanic ^[1]; the school also draws significant numbers from Ciudad Juarez on the opposite side of the Rio Grande and consequently, Spanish is the language most often heard in the corridors, even amongst Anglos.

For over 80 years, "La Cate," as it is affectionately called by its students and alumni, has striven to set a high bar for academic achievement. All sophomores are administered the College Board ACCUPLACER Test, a college entrance assessment test, to determine their eligibility to take college level courses under the Cathedral Early College Admission Program. College courses, taught at Cathedral High School in conjunction with the El Paso Community College, afford junior and senior students the opportunity to complete their first year of college while still a Cathedral student. The class of 2007 graduated with a total of 2,238 transferable college credit hours, an average of 30 hours per student.^[2]

Cathedral High School is part of a network of Christian Brothers' Schools throughout the world that educate approximately 900,000 students. Over 90% of Cathedral's graduates continue their education at university level. As a Christian Brothers' institution, the school strives to educate the whole person, challenging each student to reach his fullest potential as a well-round individual who is intellectually competent, open to growth, religious, loving, and committed to doing justice in generous service to the people of God. A Christian Brothers' education strives to integrate faith with knowledge, and to encourage students to apply both to improve the world in which they live.

The school considers its programs in campus ministry, community service, and religious education to be central to the incorporation of spirituality into the daily lives of students. For Cathedral campus ministry promotes such goals through activities that foster spiritual and emotional growth. The community service program is meant to provide opportunities for students to examine their own faith and to develop the leadership skills of expressing this faith in the contemporary world, while establishing meaningful relationships with those being served.

[edit] The Brothers

The Brothers of the Christian Schools were established by the education pioneer St. John Baptist de la Salle in the 17th century. John Baptist founded training colleges for teachers, reform schools for troubled youth, technical schools, and secondary schools for modern languages, arts, and sciences. He was one of the first to educate students according to age level and ability as well as to teach in the language of the students rather than through Latin; until de la Salle, it was common practice for one teacher to educate students of different ages and abilities at the same time in one room.