| Belen Jesuit Preparatory School | |
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Men For Others
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| Address | |
| 500 SW 127 Avenue Miami, Florida, (Miami-Dade County), 33184 United States |
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| Information | |
| Type | Private, All-Boys |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic, Society of Jesus |
| Established | 1854 |
| President | Rev. Pedro A. Suarez |
| Principal | Rev. Guillermo García-Tuñon |
| Grades | 6–12 |
| Color(s) | Blue and Gold |
| Mascot | Wolverine |
| Rival | Christopher Columbus High School |
| Accreditation(s) | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools [1] |
| Website | www.belenjesuit.org |
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School is a Roman Catholic preparatory school in Miami, Florida operated by The Society of Jesus. It was established in Cuba by the Jesuits in 1854, but moved to the United States after the communist government of Fidel Castro, himself an alumnus, took power and expelled the Jesuits.[2] It has since developed into one of the top Catholic high schools in the United States.[3]
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In 1854, Queen Isabella II of Spain issued a royal charter founding the "Colegio de Belén" in Havana, Cuba. The school began its educational work in the building formerly occupied by the convent and convalescent hospital of Our Lady of Belen, hence the name of the school. Over time, the school expanded through the donation of several nearby buildings in Havana. The resulting complex would ultimately be known as "El Palacio de Educacion" (The Palace of Education). "El Palacio" still stands, now called the Instituto Tecnico Militar (Military Technical Institute).
In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the school's property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. Belen Jesuit was re-established in Miami the same year, and by the next year it had acquired its own building and moved to a new site on the corner of S.W. 8th Street and 7th Avenue in Miami. 1980 saw a Ground-breaking ceremony for a new building on a 30-acre (120,000 m2)-site located in west Dade County, opened the following year. Initial enrollment on the new grounds consisted of 598 students.
1992 to 2002 marked a period of expansion for the school. The library was renovated, multiple computer labs were built as well as an athletic center and the number of classrooms were increased. Belen inaugurated the Ignatian Center for the Arts in 2004 which included new classrooms, a choir and orchestra practice room, a stagecraft workshop, an amphitheater, the Olga & Carlos Saladrigas Art Gallery, and the Ophelia & Juan Js. Roca Theater with a 662 patron capacity.
The 2008 fall semester was Rev. Marcelino Garcia's SJ's last semester serving as President and Principal of Belen Jesuit after twenty-five years of exceptional service. Spring 2010 marked the beginning of Rev. Pedro Suarez SJ's service as President and Rev. Guillermo Garcia-Tuñon, SJ's as Principal.
Belen Jesuit annually provides over $1.9 million in need-based grants to students. The grants are funded by the endowment, private donations, and profits from the annual fair ("Tombola").[4]
In addition to need-based aid, in 2006 Belen and Ocean Bank created the Agape Scholarship to promote diversity at the school and committed $1.2 million over the next ten years for the program.[5] The scholarship fully covers tuition, books, and other educational expenses. The school also created a scholarship committee charged with ensuring the success of the scholarship recipients.
Belen is perennially ranked as one of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the United States.[6]
The humanities and arts are held at a high esteem at Belen. As of 2004, a new building was added to the campus solely for the arts, named The Ignatian Center for the Arts. The Center consists of a theater, art gallery, music rehearsal hall, a film lab, various classrooms and an administrative office. The humanities department at Belen Jesuit Preparatory school is currently overseen by Leopoldo Nuñez who is also the director of the Center for the Arts.[7] The Ophelia & Juan Js. Roca Theatre features a 662 person occupancy, an orchestra pit, catwalk, a stage area and male and female dressing rooms. Prior to the construction of the theater, Belen productions were staged in the school auditorium which has since been re-named in honor of Guillermo F. Kohly.
Belen competes baseball, basketball, crew, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, roller hockey, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling.[8] In 2006 and 2007, Belen won state titles in cross country, swimming, and track and field.[9][10]
After not competing for twenty years, in 2003 Belen resumed competitions with its local rival (Christopher Columbus Highschool).[11]
The Ramón Guiteras Memorial Library, located on the campus, is one of the top school libraries in Miami-Dade County. It serves the student body and faculty of Belen, as well as the community at large. The library currently has over 35,000 volumes, 15,000 ebooks, and subscriptions to electronic databases. The library staff includes one professional librarian and three assistants.[12]
The library also houses La Colección Cubana (The Cuban Collection), a special collection of Cuban books. La Colección Cubana consists of over 7,000 volumes, with books either about Cuba or written by Cubans and Cuban-Americans. La Colección Cubana is open to the public. La Colección Cubana is the second-largest collection of Cuban books and other media (second only to the University of Miami) outside of Cuba[12]
Main article: List of Belen Jesuit Preparatory School people