| Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School | |
|---|---|
| Montgomery Catholic's campus gate | |
| Address | |
| 5350 Vaughn Road Montgomery, Alabama, 36116 United States |
|
| Information | |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1873 |
| President | Anne Ceasar |
| Principal | Fran Taylor |
| Grades | PK–12 |
| Average class size | 19 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 12.5:1 |
| Color(s) | Blue and Gold |
| Team name | Knights |
| Accreditation(s) | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools[1] |
| Athletic Director | Jim Tolbert |
| Website | http://www.knights.pvt.k12.al.us |
Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School is a K-12 Catholic school in Montgomery, Alabama. It is governed by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile.
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Originally founded as St. Mary's of Loretto in 1873 as an all girls' school by the Sisters of Loretto, it became co-ed in 1929 and a diocesan school in 1952, when it was renamed "Montgomery Catholic High" . As part of a regionalization plan approved by Archbishop Oscar H. Lipscomb in 2001, it merged with St. Bede Catholic elementary school (K-8) and Our Lady Queen of Mercy elementary school (K-8) to become "Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School". In 2004 it opened a middle school for grades 7-8, and the two elementary schools became K-6 campuses.
MCPS is a college preparatory school, offering both an honors and regular program to its students. In the high school honors program, students may take upper level electives, such as Advanced Placement courses in American History, Calculus, English, Biology, Physics and Fine Arts, as well as honors courses in Chemistry, British Literature, Algebra II, Trigonometry, French III and Spanish III among others. Between thirty and forty percent of its graduates receive scholarship offers to colleges around the United States. Four years of Religion, Social Studies, Science, Mathematics and English are required for all students. Electives include offerings in Band, Physical Education, Art, Computer Applications, HTML design, French and Spanish among others.
MCPS fields varsity teams in football, volleyball, cheerleading, cross-country, basketball, softball, soccer, girls' tennis, track, baseball and wrestling. Introductory Band begins in 5th grade, Intermediate Band in grades 7-8, with a Concert and Marching Band for grades 7-12. Students may also participate in Yearbook, Key Club, Pep Club, Student Government and Right to Life clubs at the high school level.
There are now two campuses to MCPS, both located in east Montgomery: the St. Bede campus (K-6) on the corner of Atlanta Highway and Perry Hill Road, and the 7-12 campus on 5350 Vaughn Road. At the St. Bede campus, there are two academic buildings, a new Family Life Center consisting of an infant to PreK day care, meeting rooms and a gym, a fine arts building, a soccer field, playground and a church. The Vaughn Road campus consists of a main academic building, cafeteria, a Science/Library Center dedicated in 1999, a gym, a separate middle school which opened in 2004, a football/soccer stadium, baseball field, softball field, practice fields, concessions, lockers and weightroom.
The K-6 program follows a traditional elementary schedule, augmented by weekly offerings in Art, Music, Band, Library and Computer Literacy classes. The middle school features two exploratory classes each day in subjects ranging from Band to cooking, and five core subjects in Math, English, Social Studies, Science and Religion. The high school schedule consists of seven courses per day with two semesters per academic year. In all three programs, Mass is offered once a week.