West Catholic Preparatory High School

West Catholic Preparatory High School

United in Faith, Loyalty, Knowledge
Address
4501 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19139
United States
Coordinates 39°57′26″N 75°12′42″W / 39.95722°N 75.21167°WCoordinates: 39°57′26″N 75°12′42″W / 39.95722°N 75.21167°W
Information
Type Private, Coeducational
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Patron saint(s) St. John Baptiste de la Salle
Established 1916
Oversight Archdiocese of Philadelphia School System
President Br. Richard Kestler
Principal Sr. Mary Bur
Asst. Principal Br. Patrick Cassidy
John Jackson
Rebecca Tomlinson
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 350 (2012-2013)
Color(s) Blue White and Gold             
Athletics conference Philadelphia Catholic League
Mascot Burr-Man
Team name Burrs
Accreditation Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools[1]
Tuition Approximately $6,500
Admissions Director John Jenkins
Athletic Director Brian Fluck
Website www.westcatholic.org

West Catholic Preparatory High School is a co-educational Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 45th and Chestnut Streets, the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia.

History

The school opened on September 8, 1989, as a result of a merger between West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys, opened in 1916, and West Philadelphia Catholic Girls High School, opened in 1927.[2]

When they originally opened, both West Catholic Girls and West Catholic Boys served students from West Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia and Delaware County. As more Archdiocesan high schools opened in the suburbs in the 1950s and 1960s, West's "feeder schools" became limited to parishes in West and Southwest Philadelphia. With the advent of "open enrollment" for Archdiocesan high schools in the 1990s, West Catholic continued to draw from West and Southwest Philadelphia, and also attracted students from Philadelphia and its suburbs. Currently (2011), approximately 25% of the students come from suburban areas, with the other 75% from across the City of Philadelphia.

In July 2013, the school announced its official name change to West Catholic Preparatory High School, as part of its overall strategic plan.

Academics

Based on the school's student focus and support; school organization and culture; challenging standards and curriculum; active teaching and learning; professional community; leadership and educational vitality; school, family, and community partnerships, and indicators of success the Blue Ribbon Schools program (in affiliation with the United States Department of Education) has awarded West Catholic the prestigious 'Blue Ribbon School of Excellence' recognition several times.

West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys was named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the Blue Ribbon Schools program in the academic year of 1983-1984 Co-Educational West Philadelphia Catholic High School was also named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the Blue Ribbon Schools program in the academic years of 1994-1996.

West Catholic graduates have gone on to Swarthmore, NYU, Georgetown, Columbia, Stanford, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania, among others. West Catholic graduates earned scholarships such as Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards, Gates Millennium Scholarships, Nelson Scholarships, Mayor's Scholarships, and an F.C. Haab Science Scholarship.

The Brothers of the Christian Schools

West Catholic's faculty includes a number of Catholic religious orders, most notably, the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, also known as the Christian Brothers. The Christian Brothers are a Roman Catholic lay religious teaching order, founded by French Priest Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle. De La Salle was a canon of the cathedral and came from a wealthy family. De La Salle's goal was setting up free schools where the children of the working and poor class citizens could learn reading, writing and arithmetic and also receive religious instruction and other training appropriate for forming good Christians.

The Christian Brothers taught at West Catholic Boys beginning in 1926 (succeeding the Brothers of Mary). Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) and the Sisters of St. Joseph (Chestnut Hill) are two of the women's religious teaching orders from West Catholic Girls. In addition to the religious orders, the school's faculty includes a number of lay teachers. The Chaplain is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Partnerships

As a resident of the University City, West Catholic Preparatory High School has taken advantage of its unique location by establishing a partnership with several Universities in Philadelphia:

Athletics

West Catholic is a member of the Philadelphia Catholic League Blue Division, which comprises schools with smaller enrollment. They currently offer the following sports at the varsity level:

Football Championship History

West Catholic has won several football championships. The following is a listing of the championship wins, the year they were won, and the winning head coach:

Rankings

West Catholic is currently second in the Catholic League's list of the Most Football Championships Won (behind Saint Joseph's Preparatory School, which holds the title with 15 championships won).

Basketball

West Catholic has won a number of men's basketball championships:

In 1971 West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Girls won the city championship at the Palestra.

In 1974 West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Girls won the city championship.

Rankings

West Catholic is currently fourth in the Catholic League's list of Most Basketball Championships Won (with the leader being Roman Catholic High School, which holds the title with 27 basketball championships won).

Alumni

Trivia

Fashion

West Catholic School for Girls was located near the Philadelphia television studios where American Bandstand was first broadcast in the 1950s, and many girls from West regularly attended the show. The girls were forbidden to wear their school uniforms on TV, and wore cardigans over their uniforms, with their blouses' rounded collars showing. "Peter Pan collars" became popular as a result.

Student body

There were 819 students attending West Catholic:[3]

Ethnicity[4]

References

  1. ↑ MSA-CSS. "MSA-Commission on Secondary Schools". Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  2. ↑ "History." West Philadelphia Catholic High School. November 2, 2004.
  3. ↑ (current as of the 2006-2007 academic year)
  4. ↑ (Source NCES, 2003-2004)

External links