Fontbonne Academy

Fontbonne Academy is a private Roman Catholic college preparatory high school for girls, located in Milton, Massachusetts, USA. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. It was started in 1954 by the Sisters of St. Joseph. The school was fully accredited in 1959 by the New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges. Accreditation has been consistently renewed for ten-year periods.

Enrollment

Enrollment has multiplied from 97 students in 1954 to just under 400 in 2011. The student body is drawn from more than 45 cities and towns throughout the Boston area, MetroWest, and the South Shore. The school has a seven-acre campus with the original building that has been updated over the years to include science, technology and language labs. The building had a facelift in 2010 and installed many energy-saving improvements throughout. Fontbonne Academy boasts a 100% college acceptance rate. The Class of 2013 averaged $175,000 per student in grants and scholarships to four-year colleges.

History

Founded in 1954, the academy takes its name from Mother St. John Fontbonne, who re-established the congregation in France after its suppression during the French Revolution. Under her leadership, the first Sisters came to the United States. In Boston, the congregation taught in archdioscesan parochial schools, and also founded and conducted its own ministries, of which Fontbonne is one. As a sponsored ministry, Fontbonne Academy furthers the Sisters' charism — a direct outgrowth of the order's experience in revolutionary France — of reconciliation, unity and non-violence in the school's academic programs, spirituality, and co-curricular activities.

Employment discrimination controversy

In January 2014, Fontbonne Academy allegedly rescinded a job offer made to Matthew Barrett. Barrett, who had been offered a position as food services director, claimed the head of school withdrew the job offer after Barrett listed his husband as his emergency contact on his hiring paperwork. "She said the Catholic religion doesn't recognize same-sex marriage, and that was her excuse." Because Massachusetts law protects gay people from employment discrimination, Barrett's attorneys allege that Fontbonne Academy is in violation of that law, and have filed suit on his behalf.^[2]

Academics

• 100% of graduates go to 4-year colleges.^[3]
• Seven AP courses: Art, Biology, Calculus, English, French, Spanish, and U.S. History.
• 40 honors and AP courses are offered.
• Over 200 online courses are offered through Virtual High School (VHS) with an onsite coordinator
• Foreign languages: French, Latin and Spanish. (3 credits of one language are required for graduation).
• Students complete one hundred hours (25 hours per year) of service outside of school to fulfill graduation requirements.
• Standardized tests used to evaluate applicants: HSPT (High School Placement Test).
• Seniors complete a Social Justice Project each year which is a capstone project, spanning every academic discipline, where they advocate for a social injustice and present to the student body in the annual Social Justice Fair.

Athletic program

Activities

Alma mater

The school song was written by Therese Higgins, CSJ (lyrics) and Berj Zamkochian (music).

Memberships

• Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges
• Association of Independent Schools of New England (AISNE)

Notable alumni

• Tara OBrien – Broadway actress (Class of 1986)
• Lois Roach – directed the Boston premiere of Crowns , Legacy of Light, Old Settler with the The Lyric Stage Company of Boston. (Class of 1979)
• Dolly DiPesa – Managing partner of DiPesa & Company, CPAs, (Class of 1971)
• Jen Mergel - Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Class of 1994)
• Patty Toland - Partner/co-Founder Filament Group (Class of 1983)
• Gina McCarthy - Administrator of Environmental Protection Agency (Class of 1972)
• Nina Liang - Quincy, MA at-large city councilor. (Class of 2006)

References

1. ↑ NEASC-CIS. "NEASC-Commission on Independent Schools". Retrieved 2009-07-28. 
2. ↑ {{cite Although Fontbonne Academy was extremely impressed with Mr. Barrett, the Archdiocese of Boston, who funds Fontbonne and gives out multiple scholarships, wouldn't allow it. Fontbonne Academy did not mind that Mr. Barrett had a husband, it makes no difference! But, the Archdiocese of Boston wouldn't allow it. news|last=Valencia|first=Milton|title=Gay married man says Catholic school rescinded job offer|url=http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/01/29/dorchester-man-files-discrimination-against-catholic-school-says-lost-job-because-was-gay-married/0KswVITMsOrruEbhsOsOeN/story.html|accessdate=13 February 2014|newspaper=Boston Globe|date=30 January 2014}}
3. ↑ The Principal's View of Fontbonne Academy – Milton, Massachusetts – MA

External links

• School website
• Massachusetts Department of Education profile of school
• Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston website
• Sisters of Saint Joseph website

Archdiocese of Boston Ordinaries Bishops Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus Benedict Joseph Fenwick John Bernard Fitzpatrick Archbishops John Joseph Williams Cardinal William Henry O'Connell Cardinal Richard Cushing Cardinal Humberto Sousa Medeiros Cardinal Bernard Francis Law Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley Auxiliary Bishops John Anthony Dooher Walter James Edyvean Robert Francis Hennessey Arthur Kennedy Peter John Uglietto Churches Cathedral Cathedral of the Holy Cross Basilica Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (The Mission Church) Parishes Holy Trinity Parish, Lowell Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish, Boston St. John the Baptist Parish, Salem St. Mary's Church, Dedham St. Mary's Church, Waltham St. Mary's Church, Winchester St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr's Parish, Chelsea Education Seminaries Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary St. John's Seminary Colleges Boston College Emmanuel College Labouré College Marian Court College Merrimack College Regis College St. John's Seminary High Schools Academy of Notre Dame, Tyngsboro Archbishop Williams High School, Braintree Arlington Catholic High School, Arlington Austin Preparatory School, Reading Bishop Fenwick High School, Peabody Boston College High School, Dorchester Cardinal Spellman High School, Brockton Cathedral High School, Boston Catholic Memorial High School, West Roxbury Central Catholic High School, Lawrence Cristo Rey Boston High School, Dorchester Elizabeth Seton Academy, Boston Fontbonne Academy, Milton Lowell Catholic High School, Lowell Malden Catholic High School, Malden Marian High School Framingham Matignon High School, Cambridge Mount Alvernia High School, Newton Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Boston Nazareth Academy, Wakefield Newton Country Day School, Newton Notre Dame Academy, Hingham Notre Dame High School, Lawrence Pope John XXIII High School, Everett Presentation of Mary Academy, Methuen Sacred Heart High School, Kingston Saint Clement High School, Medford St. John's Preparatory School, Danvers St. Mary's High School, Lynn Saint Sebastian's School, Needham Ursuline Academy, Dedham Xaverian Brothers High School, Westwood Catholicism Portal