Bishop O'Dowd High School

Bishop O'Dowd High School
Address
9500 Stearns Avenue
Oakland, California, (Alameda County), 94605
United States
Information
Type Private, Coeducational
Motto Cor Unum in Christo
(One heart in Christ)
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established 1951
President Stephen Phelps, Ed.D.
Principal Joseph Salamack, M.A., M.S.
Asst. Principal Pam Shay;
Brian Judd;
Kevin Cushing
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1,120  (2010-2011)
Average class size 24
Student to teacher ratio 15:1
Campus Urban
Color(s) Black and Gold          
Athletics 16 interscholastic sports, with 57 teams, including rugby, water polo and lacrosse as well as the traditional sports
Athletics conference HAAL - Hayward Area Athletic League
Mascot Dragon
Team name Dragons
Accreditation(s) Western Association of Schools and Colleges[1]
Average SAT scores 603 verbal
643 math (2006)
Newspaper The Crozier
Yearbook Mitre
School fees $900
Tuition $13,840 (2010-2011) [1]
Alumni More than 13,000
Admissions Director Tyler Kreitz
Athletic Director Mike Bowler
Website

Bishop O'Dowd High School is a Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory school in Oakland, California, administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland and named for the late auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, James T. O'Dowd (1907–1950). About 44% of students are non-Catholic. The school requires all students to attend school liturgies (Catholic Mass and prayer services), to enroll in religious studies courses each semester, and to complete its 4-year service learning program.

Contents

History

Bishop O’Dowd High School is named in memory of the former Superintendent of Schools of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Bishop James T. O’Dowd, who died of an automobile accident at the age of 43. At the time of O'Dowd's sudden death, having just helped to establish Marin Catholic and Riordan high schools, he was in the process of drawing up plans for a new Catholic high school in the East Bay.

O’Dowd is a Catholic high school community of 1,120 students. Its students show good academic performance and high test scores, engage in award-winning fine and performing arts, strong athletics, and campus ministry offered to the student body. The school has a faculty and staff of 120, as well as over 75 coaches and moderators.

More than 700 athletes participate in 16 interscholastic sports on 57 teams, including rugby, water polo and lacrosse as well as traditional sports. In March 2010, the men’s varsity basketball team advanced to the Division III state championship game. In April 2010, the school’s speech and debate team won the state title in parliamentary debate.

Ninety-five percent of O’Dowd graduates are accepted to four-year colleges and universities in California and nationwide. Each year, nearly 60 percent of the senior class is admitted to the UC System, placing O’Dowd in the top five percent of all public, Catholic and independent high schools in Northern California. More than 12,000 graduates have been added to the ranks of alumni since the first class graduated in 1955, fulfilling roles of leadership and service in the Bay Area and worldwide.

O’Dowd’s college preparatory curriculum includes Advanced Placement courses in 17 subjects, and an enhanced range of services to accommodate college preparatory students with learning differences. The curriculum includes honors courses in mathematics, language, English, social studies and science, and computer programming and multimedia design. A fully integrated arts and drama program, an environmental science program, and five languages are also offered. In addition, students participate in a 100-hour service learning program.

A wireless technology environment allows students and faculty access to the Internet and encourages student-centered learning. Through O’Dowd’s 1:1 laptop program, all students receive laptops and use them in class. The school offers online classes to support the school’s mission of preparing students for life after high school.

In June 2010, O’Dowd successfully completed a three-year, $9 million dollar comprehensive fundraising campaign and funds raised were split about evenly between capital development and program enhancement. Funds contributed to renovation of many elements of the classroom buildings — from floors to ceilings, interior and exterior, every classroom, lab and locker, from ventilation to technology infrastructure.

Currently the school is working build a LEED-certified Environmental Science Center and further expand its environmental science curriculum, including environmental engineering. In addition, the school is now offering only compostable plates and utensils at its sports events to promote awareness about environmental protection. [2]

Demographics

43 percent European American, 20 percent African American, 12 percent Asian American/Pacific Islander, 14 percent Latino American, 1 percent Middle Eastern, 1 percent Native American, 9 percent other (mostly mixed race).

Athletics

More than 700 athletes participate in 16 interscholastic sports on 57 teams.

Notable alumni

Notable staff

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ WASC-ACS. "WASC-Accrediting Commission for Schools". http://www.acswasc.org/directory_search.cfm. Retrieved 2009-06-05. 
  2. ^ Bishop O'Dowd History,
  3. ^ Guthmann, Edward. "National Book Award finalist fills in the blanks with identity-driven graphic novel." San Francisco Chronicle. October 23, 2006. 1. Retrieved on September 8, 2011.

External links

San Francisco Bay Area portal
Schools portal
Catholicism portal