Saint Charles Preparatory School
Saint Charles Preparatory School is a four-year Catholic college preparatory school (a type of high school) in Columbus, Ohio, USA. It was founded in 1923 by the fourth Bishop of Columbus, James J. Hartley, as a Roman Catholic college seminary and high school. Today, it is an all-male high school serving the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus.
| Saint Charles Preparatory School Collegium Sancti Caroli Borromeo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
2010 East Broad Street , , 43209-1665 United States | |
| Coordinates | 39.969231°N 82.947403°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Private |
| Motto | Euntes Ergo Docete Omnes Gentes (Going out, therefore, teach all nations) |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
| Patron saint(s) | Saint Charles Borromeo |
| Established | 1923 |
| Founder | Bishop James J. Hartley |
| Oversight | Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus |
| Superintendent | Joe Brettnacher[1] |
| CEEB code | 361595 |
| Principal | James Lower |
| Athletic Director | Dave Lawler[2] |
| Academic Dean | John O'Neil |
| Dean of Students | Richard Ey |
| Teaching staff | 36 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Gender | Male |
| Enrollment | 623 (2018) |
| • Grade 9 | 153 |
| • Grade 10 | 153 |
| • Grade 11 | 166 |
| • Grade 12 | 153 |
| Average class size | 17.7 (as of 2014-15) |
| Campus | Urban |
| Campus size | 20 Acres (Main Campus only) |
| Color(s) | Cardinal Red and White[2] |
| Slogan | The Distinctive Leader in Catholic Education |
| Athletics conference | Central Catholic League |
| Sports | Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer, Swimming, Tenis, Track and Field, Volleyball, Water Polo, and Wrestling |
| Mascot | Charlie the Cardinal |
| Nickname | Cardinals |
| Team name | Cardinals[2] |
| Rival | Bishop Watterson High School, St. Francis DeSales High School, Bishop Hartley High School (Columbus, Ohio) |
| Newspaper | The Carolian |
| Yearbook | The Spectrum |
| Tuition | $9,865 (as of the 2017-18 school year)[3] |
| Alumni | Robert Nugent Lynch, Robert D. Walter |
| Website | www |
The school's patron is Saint Charles Borromeo, and its motto, inscribed above the front door, is Euntes Ergo Docete Omnes Gentes, a quote from the Gospel of Matthew (28:19) in the Latin Vulgate: "Going out, therefore, teach all nations." The original nickname of Saint Charles students is "Carolians", derived from the Latin word "Carolus," which means "Charles." In 1947, the students also began to refer to themselves as "Cardinals." The Saint Charles sports mascot is Charlie the Cardinal.
Campuses and founding
The school consists of two campuses. The oldest campus is Main Campus, which contains the school, gymnasium, natatorium, and theater. The newest campus is West Campus, which contains the athletic facility, track, and robotics and mentoring center. The school was founded in 1923 by Bishop James J. Hartley. The first classes were held at Sacred Heart School, an all-girls Catholic school, while the main school building was being built.
Main Campus
In 1925, construction of the main school building was completed and classes were held there. In 1931, the gymnasium and the Our Lady Lourdes Grotto were completed. Major renovations were made to the gym in 1951 to more than double the capacity. A Gaelic-style chapel (called the "Lower Chapel") was added on to the east side of the school in 1937. Bishop Hartley dedicated the chapel to Mother of Mercy. A Milwaukee art company beautified the chapel with artwork in 1952. A natatorium was built next to the multipurpose room in 1990. In 1999, the Jack Ryan Training and Fitness Facility was built adjoining to the gym.
Construction on the US$5.5 million Robert C. Walter Student Commons and the Student Services and Fine Arts Center, the largest addition to Saint Charles in its history, began in June 2005. The approximately 27,000-square-foot (2,500 m2) addition, which replaced the courtyard behind the school, was ready for graduation at the end of the following school year; however, it was not available for full use until the 2006-2007 school year. The addition houses the 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) Robert C. Walter Student Commons Area, which serves as a new cafeteria and provides ample seating space for school and community functions. The Walter Student Commons is named in memory of Robert C. Walter, father of 1963 graduate Robert D. "Bob" Walter, honorary chairman and lead contributor to the current capital campaign being conducted to finance the new addition. Bob Walter and his '63 classmate, architect Robert Corna of Cleveland, initiated the concept for the Commons nearly two years ago. Corna was the architect on the project, and based his designs off of a similar plan for Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, also an all-male school. On the columns supporting the roof are glass panes, which bear the names of all of the alumni of the school, written with laser. Behind the Robert C. Walter Student Commons Area is the 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) Student Services & Fine Arts Center. The ground floor anchors the north end of the atrium, and houses a new kitchen, sponsored by Donatos Pizza, and restrooms. The second floor houses offices for the guidance and counseling programs, campus ministry, and the school nurse. On the third floor is an extensive art room and gallery, with a kiln and mud rooms; and a music and choir room, with instrument storage and practice rooms; as well as offices for the respective instructors. The second and third floor connect to the original building at its rear stairwell, and to the Robert C. Walter Student Commons Area by a staircase.
On November 1, 2018, Saint Charles announced the beginning of funding to its latest addition to main campus. The addition, once funded $20 million, will take the place of the current gymnasium and multi-purpose room and add additional classrooms, laboratories, and a new gymnasium. It is also planned that a hallway will connect the new addition to the main building. This new expansion will be on the current baseball field, and it is expected that Saint Charles will purchase a portion of a nearby park for use to build a new baseball diamond.
West Campus
For the first time in its 89-year history, the school expanded its current Broad Street campus footprint. The centerpiece of this project is the newly purchased property which formerly housed the Dealers Lumber Company and came up for sale in the summer of 2010. St. Charles moved quickly to acquire the 6.2 acre site and closed on the purchase in December. The Robert D. Walter West Campus includes the Savko Athletic Complex, comprising a six-lane running track, the artificial-turf Dominic and Kathleen Cavello Field and parking; a 13,000-square-foot training and fitness facility (weight room and 30 yard turf field for speed and agility); and the Horvath Parking Lot. A pedestrian bridge that spans Alum Creek helps connect it with the main campus at 2010 E. Broad St. The full project, paid for through fundraisers, private donations and in-kind gifts, cost about $5.1 million.
In 2018, Saint Charles unveiled the new Robotics and Mentoring Center (even further west from Main Campus than West Campus, thus gaining the colloquial "West West Campus" or "West-er Campus"). The new center costs $2 million and is 14,000-square-feet. Along with being able to support the Robotics Team and My Brother's Keeper (MBK) mentoring programs, the new building has a recreational area for indoor sports, including an indoor basketball court and a state-of-the-art golf simulator. The new Mentoring Center is connected to West Campus via a sidewalk along Long Street.
Academics
St. Charles graduation requirements include: 4 years of religion class, English, foreign language, mathematics, and science; 3 years of social studies; and 1 year of fine arts, health, physical education. Some of the AP classes that are offered to juniors and seniors are AP Latin, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, English, Calculus, US and World History. For the 2019-2020 year, Saint Charles will add Computer Science Principles and Government.
Saint Charles requires students to take at least two years of Latin, a practice retained from the school's past, when four years of Latin were mandatory.
Many students graduating from Saint Charles attend some of the premier college institutions in the country, including the University of Notre Dame, Harvard, Dartmouth College, Boston College, Cornell University, Yale University, The University of Pennsylvania, Kenyon College, Denison University, University of Massachusetts, and Washington University in St. Louis. There is also a small number of graduates every few years who discern the vocation to the Catholic priesthood, usually enrolling at the Pontifical College Josephinum.
In 2005, the State of Ohio implemented the new Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) and Saint Charles Preparatory was one of three schools in Central Ohio to have every sophomore pass every section. (The statewide public school pass rate was 64%.) St. Charles kept this 100% passage rate until its cancellation in 2015. This allowed Saint Charles to gain the title of "Undefeated OGT State Champions."
Saint Charles has a history of a large number of students in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Since the Class of 1993, Saint Charles has had over 3000 graduates , with over 10% (335) becoming Commended Scholars, 215 of which became National Merit Semifinalists.
Theatre
Since St. Charles is an all-male school, the theatre department has had to use different methods to incorporate the female roles of plays and musicals. Both prep school and seminary students performed the first plays at St. Charles in 1929 under the direction of Monsignor Joseph A. Cousins. Female roles were played by male students dressing up as women until 1971. It was then that Mrs. Teresa McLean (the school's biology teacher) became the first woman to perform in a St. Charles play. The next year, female students from St. Joseph Academy and Bishop Watterson High School played female parts in a production. Ever since then, female roles for plays have been filled by open auditions from women at other Central Ohio schools. The current theater director is Mr. R.Douglas Montgomery.
Notable Persons
- Bishop James J. Hartley, D.D. (June 26, 1853 – January 12, 1944): A native of Davenport, Iowa, Bishop Hartley was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Columbus on July 10, 1882, by Bishop John A. Watterson. On December 10, 1903, Pope Pius X appointed him as the fourth Bishop of Columbus to succeed Bishop Henry K. Moeller, who had been appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Cincinnati. He was consecrated on February 25, 1904, by Archbishop Moeller and was installed in St. Joseph Cathedral five days later. Bishop Hartley founded Saint Charles in 1923. During his episcopate of over 39 years, the longest in the diocese's history, the number of parishes with schools in Columbus went from 37 to 74. Bishop Hartley also started what is now known as The Catholic Times, which had an office at Saint Charles for a short period of time.
- Monsignor F. Thomas Gallen, P.A. (October 5, 1922 – July 31, 2004): A native of Columbus, Ohio, Msgr. Gallen graduated from Immaculate Conception School in 1936; Saint Charles Preparatory School in 1940; and the College of Saint Charles Borromeo in 1944. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Columbus on June 7, 1947 at Saint Joseph Cathedral by the fifth Bishop of Columbus, Michael J. Ready. He also held a master's degree from the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome. In 1960, Father Gallen helped launch the broadcasts of area Masses that are still televised in Central Ohio each Sunday morning. In 1989, he was named a Monsignor by Pope John Paul II as an Apostolic Protonotary supernumerary. Affectionately known as "Monz," he had a 48-year tenure at Saint Charles, from 1950 until his retirement in 1998.
- Monsignor Thomas M. Bennett (November 18, 1931 – September 7, 2008): A native of Detroit, Michigan, Msgr. Bennett graduated from the College of Saint Charles Borromeo in 1953. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Columbus on May 25, 1957, at Saint Joseph Cathedral by Auxiliary Bishop of Columbus Edward G. Hettinger. In 1992, he was named a Monsignor as an Honorary Prelate of Pope John Paul II. Bennett spent his life as a priest and teacher of the students of Saint Charles, where he had a 46-year tenure, from 1963 until his death in 2008. At the time of his death, Bennett was the last teaching priest in the Diocese of Columbus.[4]
- Robert D. Walter: Creator of Cardinal Health, a Fortune 500 health care services company
- Bob Duffy (basketball, born 1922): Basketball player
- Robert Nugent Lynch: Bishop of St. Petersburg, Florida from 1996-2016
- Matt Lampson: MLS Goalkeeper for the Los Angeles Galaxy
- Aaron Diehl: Jazz pianist
List of principals and rectors
| Years | Principal / Rector |
|---|---|
| 1925–1942 | Msgr. Joseph A. Weigand |
| 1942–1945 | Msgr. Edward J. Leinheuser |
| 1945–1957 | Msgr. Paul J. Glenn |
| 1957–1969 | Msgr. Paul J. O'Dea |
| 1958–1969 | Msgr. George T. Woltz |
| 1969–1971 | Msgr. Ralph J. Huntzinger |
| 1971–1976 | Rev. Charles A. Jackson |
| 1976–1985 | Rev. Daniel W. Pallay |
| 1985 – 2012 | Dominic J. Cavello |
| 2012–Present | James R. Lower |
Alma Mater, Patronal Hymn, and Fight Song
Alma mater
Hail, Alma Mater dear.
Loyal Carolians here.
Thy fame spread far and near
O'er hill and dale;
Our voices raise to thee,
Singing their praise to thee
And happy days with thee,
Saint Charles, hail!
When student days are o'er
And classes meet no more,
When life has called the score:
Prosper or fail;
Still in the twilight gray,
As ages pass away,
Lift we our hearts to say;
Saint Charles, hail!
Patronal Hymn
O Saint Charles, our holy Father,
Mighty patron of us all!
In thine honor, lo! we gather,
Let thy kindly blessing fall.
Pray for us who name thee patron,
Hear thy sons who on thee call.
O Saint Charles, true guide to heaven,
Unto death our patron be.
When the clouds grow dark at even'
And God's way we fail to see,
Lift the weak, inspire the weary,
Bring us home to Christ with thee.
Fight Song: Saint Charles Men of Pride
Men of pride and great tradition.
Saint Charles Prep are we,
Ever strong our team takes us on,
Onward to victory.
When we fight our spirit lead us,
Victory prevails.
We fight to win, we don't give in oh Saint Charles men of pride.
Athletics
Saint Charles is a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association and Ohio Water Polo. The following lists may be incomplete.
Central Catholic League Championships
- Basketball (3)- 2015-2017
- Bowling (2)- 2018-2019
- Cross Country (19)- 1999-2005, 2007-2018
- Football (2)- 1953, 2013
- Soccer (5)- 2011-2013, 2016, 2018
- Swimming (23)- 1997-2020
- Track and Field (1)- 2019
- Wrestling (1)- 2013
Central District Championships
- Hockey (1)- 2014
- Golf (1)- 2016
- Soccer (3)- 2016, 2018, 2019
- Swimming (9)- 2006-2010, 2014-2017
District Runners-Up
- Swimming (12)- 1948, 1994, 1995, 2002-2005, 2011-2013, 2018, 2019
Ohio State Championships
- Golf (Div I, 2)- 2009, 2010
- Soccer (A-AA, 2)- 1983, 1985
- Swimming (Div I, 1)- 2008
- 2003 (200 freestyle), 2006 (200 freestyle relay), 2008 (200 and 400 freestyle), 2009 (200 medley relay)
- Volleyball (Div II, 2)- 2009, 2018
- Water Polo (Div I, 6)- 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019
State Runners-Up
- Basketball (Div II, 1)- 1992
- Golf (Div I, 2)- 2014, 2016
- Hockey (Div I, 1)- 2014 (co-runner-up)
- Soccer (4)- 1981 (Div II), 1988 (Div II), 1991 (Div II), 2016 (Div I)
- Swimming (Div I, 3)- 2006, 2007, 2009
- Volleyball (Div II, 2)- 1990, 2010
- Water Polo (Div I, 2)- 2016, 2017
Other Athletic Achievements
- From 1938 until 1942, Jack Ryan coached the basketball team to a record of 77-5
- In 1957, the baseball team made it to the AA Final Four
- From 1975 until 1979, the basketball team had 25 consecutive CCL games without a loss, which remains a CCL record
- In 2014, both the JV and Varsity hockey teams won the CBJ Cup
- In 2015, Water Polo placed third in the state
- In 2016, the soccer team finished the season ranked eighth in the nation by USA Today on its final Super 25 Expert Rankings.[5]
- In 2018, the soccer team lost by golden goal to become Central Region Runners-up
Borromean Lecture Series
The Borromean Lecture Series is an annual occurrence at Saint Charles, usually during the autumn semester, and is sponsored by Robert Dilenschneider, CEO of The Dilenschneider Group. It is named after the Borromeo family of which Saint Charles was a part of. The speakers are the elite in their field and are listed below:
| School Year | Speaker | Occupation | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-2002 | Michael Novak | U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations | Political/Misc. |
| 2002-2003 | Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J. | Internationally-known author and lecturer | Religious |
| 2004-2005 | Joel Klein | Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education | Academic |
| 2005-2006 | Russell Hittinger, Ph.D. | Warren Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Tulsa College of Law | Academic/Religious |
| 2006-2007 | Archbishop Celestino Migliore | Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations | Religious/Political |
| 2007-2008 | Father John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. | President of the University of Notre Dame | Academic/Religious |
| 2008-2009 | Carl A. Anderson | Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus | Religious |
| 2009-2010 | Father Robert F. O'Toole , S.J., S.S.D. | President of the Gregorian University Foundation | Academic/Religious |
| 2010-2011 | Father Jeffery von Arx, S.J. | President of the Fairfield University Foundation | Academic/Religious |
| 2011-2012 | William McGurn | Vice President of News Corporation | News |
| 2012-2013 | John H. Garvey | President of the Catholic University of America | Academic/Religious |
| 2013-2014 | Allan E. Goodman | President of the Institute of International Education | Academic |
| 2014-2015 | Father Michael J. Garanzini, S.J. | President of Loyola University Chicago | Academic/Religious |
| 2015-2016 | Steve Forbes | Chairman and Editor-in-chief of Forbes | News |
| 2016-2017 | Susan Eisenhower | President of the Eisenhower Group | Political/Misc. |
| 2017-2018 | Kenneth L. Woodward | Responsible for Newsweek's Religion section | News/Religious |
| 2018-2019 | Gerard Baker | Editor-at-large of The Wall Street Journal | News |
| 2019-2020 | Joseph E. Nyre, Ph.D. | President of Seton Hall University | Academic/Religious |
See also
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2015-02-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association member directory". Archived from the original on 2010-11-05. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
- https://www.stcharlesprep.org/admissions/
- "For 46 years, teacher inspired at St. Charles". Columbus Dispatch. 2008-09-08. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
- Super 25 Expert Rankings for 2016-17 Boys Soccer Week 13, USA Today. Accessed May 2, 2017.
- Fabro, Louis V. Saint Charles Borromeo Preparatory School: The First 75 Years of Excellence. United States: n.p., 2000.
"$5.5 Million Campus Construction Project Underway for the Robert C. Walter Student Commons and the Student Services and Fine Arts Center." Saint Charles Preparatory School, 2006. http://www.stcharlesprep.org/expansion/index.php
External links
- St. Charles Prep Official Website
- Diocese of Columbus Education Website
- St. Charles Prep Swimming and Water Polo
- St. Charles Soccer
