Nazareth Academy (La Grange Park, Illinois)

Nazareth Acaedmy
Address
1209 West Ogden Avenue
La Grange Park, Illinois, 60526
United States
Coordinates 41°49′13″N 87°53′11″W / 41.8204°N 87.8863°WCoordinates: 41°49′13″N 87°53′11″W / 41.8204°N 87.8863°W
Information
Type private, secondary, parochial
Motto Claire Moriarty
Denomination Roman Catholic
Established 1900
Oversight Archdiocese of Chicago
President Dennis P. Moran
Principal Deborah Tracy
Teaching staff 51
Grades 9–12
Gender coed
Enrollment 807 (2011)
Campus suburban
Color(s) Columbia Blue, White and Navy Blue             
Athletics conference East Suburban Catholic Conference
Mascot Rocky Roadrunner
Team name Roadrunners
Accreditation North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[1]
Newspaper The Announcer
Yearbook The Alexine
Tuition US$11,800[2]
Affiliation Sisters of St. Joseph
Website nazarethacademy.com

Nazareth Academy is a Roman Catholic college-preparatory high school located in LaGrange Park, Illinois, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. It was founded in 1900 by the Sisters of St. Joseph.

History

After relocating to Chicago, the Sisters of St. Joseph were encouraged to settle in LaGrange Park and open a school. In 1900, they founded Nazareth Academy in a remodeled house located at 120 N. Spring. There were 14 students, all girls, ranging from the ages of 5 to 14. Some students boarded at the school while others were only day students. In 1901, a new building was constructed. In 1903, the first two students of Nazareth graduated and enrollment had risen to 48 girls. At the same time, a boy’s only school was opened across the street from Nazareth. In 1926, the Sisters decided to restrict enrollment to high school students only. In 1936, Nazareth was accredited by the North Central Association for the first time. In 1950 there were 500 students and in an effort to house all the students, a new building was constructed; by 1958, there were 1,319 students. In 1963, the boarding school was forced to close in an effort to make room for more classrooms to accommodate the growing number of students. Soon after, in 1974, enrollment had decreased so greatly that the Sisters were forced to sell their building to the town and relocated to its current residence on Ogden Avenue. In 1977, with only 498 students were enrolled at Nazareth, the Sisters opened the school to boys, making it a coed school for the first time. Since then, many buildings and facilities have been added to the campus, including a gym and a football and soccer field.[3]

Recently, Nazareth has been working on adding many additions to the school in an effort to keep up with the growing number of students. Among the additions are a baseball field, a new entrance hall, a legacy garden, and last fall the new dining hall was opened. The main athletic field, used for both football and soccer, now has a FieldTurf surface. In the spring of 2008, the school also added a new auditorium.

Academics

The focus of the school's academic program is on college preparatory.

The school offers Advanced placement courses in: English Language, English Literature, Spanish Language, French Language, Calculus (AB & BC), Computer Science (A & AB), Biology, Physics (C), Chemistry, and U.S. History.

The Foreign Language Department offers study Spanish, French, Mandarin and Italian. It offered German in the past, but no longer does.[4]

As a part of the religious study component of the graduation requirement, students must complete ten hours of community service as a sophomore. Juniors must complete an additional ten hours of service, in addition to attending a two day retreat.[5]

Athletics

The Nazareth Academy Roadrunners are full members of the East Suburban Catholic Conference (ESCC), and compete in state tournaments sponsored by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA).

The school sponsors interscholastic teams for men and women in lacrosse, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. Men may also compete in baseball and football. Women may also compete in cheerleading and softball. While not sponsored by the IHSA or ESCC, the school also sponsors an ice hockey team for men. Women may also compete in pom-poms.[6]

The school's football team won the IHSA state championship in 2014.[7]

Campus Ministry

Campus ministry focuses on three areas: service, liturgies, and retreats.

Students participate in a mandatory retreat as juniors, and may also participate in a Kairos retreat as seniors.

Students may also help in planning liturgy celebrations throughout the year, as well as becoming extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion to assist during these services.

Service is encouraged through many extracurricular activities, though other opportunities (such as volunteering time at soup kitchens and homeless shelters) are also made available to students. Students are required to complete 20 hours of community service as a graduation requirement.[8] Each spring, the seniors participate in a "Circle the City" day, where all seniors spend the day volunteering at different locations throughout the city and suburbs of Chicago.

Notable Alumni/ae

Author: Virginia C. Bulat (class of 1956), author and historian, history of Illinois and Cook County, Illinois

References

External links