St. Anselm's Abbey School

Last updated

St. Anselm's Abbey School
St. Anselm's Abbey School Logo.svg
Address
St. Anselm's Abbey School
4501 South Dakota Avenue, NE

20017

United States
Coordinates 38°56′46″N76°59′11″W / 38.94611°N 76.98639°W / 38.94611; -76.98639
Information
Type Private, selective, all-male
MottoPax in Sapientia
("Peace in wisdom")
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established1942(82 years ago) (1942)
School district Archdiocese of Washington Catholic Schools [1]
CEEB code 090155
PresidentFr. Anthony Giampietro, CSB
HeadmasterJohn Corrigan
Head teacherDaniel F. Attridge
ChaplainFr. Samuel Springuel, OSB
Faculty41
GradesForms A - VI (grades 612)
Enrollment255 (in 2019-2020)
CampusUrban
Color(s)Maroon and silver
  
Athletics conference Potomac Valley Athletic Conference
Mascot Panther
Accreditation Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools [2]
NewspaperThe Priory Press / The Panther
YearbookThe Priory Perspective
Tuition$29,800-30,800
Affiliations Benedictine
Website www.saintanselms.org

St. Anselm's Abbey School is an all-boys preparatory school for grades six through twelve in Washington D.C., United States. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. The school sits on a 40-acre wooded campus in the Michigan Park neighborhood of the city's Northeast quadrant. It is run by the Benedictine monks of Saint Anselm's Abbey.

Contents

History

The Abbey Shield Shield4501.jpg
The Abbey Shield

The school was founded in 1942 as the Priory School by Fr. Thomas Verner Moore, OSB, the superior of what was then St. Anselm's Priory. The Priory School opened on September 15, 1942 with just 18 students. Although the school began as a high school, the 7th and 8th grades (known as Form I and Form II, respectively) were added in 1955.

The school was renamed St. Anselm's Abbey School in 1961, when the monastery was elevated to the status of an abbey. A 6th grade, known as Form A, was added in 1990 following a major expansion of the school's academic building. In 2003, the school completed a $9 million athletic and performing arts complex. This included the construction of a state-of-the-art athletic facility and gymnasium, as well as the conversion of the old 1945 gym into the Devine Performing Arts Center, containing classroom space, faculty offices, and a theater with seating for 400.

Academics

An entrance exam is required. The school attempts to create an academically challenging curriculum that offers classes in a range of subjects, including 26 Advanced Placement courses. [3] In 2020, roughly one-third of the graduating class achieved commendation or higher honors from the National Merit Scholar program. The average combined SAT score was over 1400. In 2020, 54% of the 37 graduates achieved the AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, or National AP Scholar level as defined by the Advanced Placement Program. [4]

Each student who has graduated from St. Anselm's Abbey School since its founding has been accepted to and attended an accredited four-year college or university. [5] For the three-year period from 2018 to 2020, the five most popular destinations for St. Anselm's graduates were Boston College, University of Notre Dame, the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Virginia, and the College of William & Mary.[ citation needed ]

The school's curriculum emphasizes classics and is somewhat idiosyncratic. Grades are called "forms", in accordance with the British school system. In addition to six years of science and four years of a spoken language (either French, Spanish, or Arabic), four years of Latin are required. Ancient Greek is also offered as an elective for students in the Upper School. As in many other religious schools, theology is also a required course each year.

The school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools.

In a December 2006 online discussion, Washington Post columnist and Challenge Index creator Jay Mathews said, "Saint Anselm's Abbey in NE D.C. has one of the highest ratings in the country, far above most private schools I know." [6] Following up in June 2011, Mathews declared that had he included private schools on his "Challenge Index", St. Anselm's Abbey School would have "a rating of 7.250 and a national ranking of 27th if [he] put it on the list. On the Washington area list it would have been No. 1." [7]

The Baltimore Sun has called St. Anselm's "one of the country's premier college preparatory schools." [8] In August 2017, Town & Country listed St. Anselm's as one of the top 10 Catholic high schools in the country. [9]

Class sizes are 10-20 per class. The school's student-to-faculty ratio is approximately 7:1. Classes are smallest in the Upper Division (Forms V and VI), and graduating classes are typically made up of 40 or fewer students.

Campus and facilities

The St. Anselm's academic building St. Anselm's Abbey School academic building.JPG
The St. Anselm's academic building

The school's campus is approximately 40 acres (16 ha) atop a hill in Washington, D.C., and includes the monastic building of St. Anselm's Abbey, an academic building, and an athletics/performing arts complex. The campus contains several tennis courts, athletic fields, batting cages, a cemetery and woodland areas.

The academic building underwent a renovation in 2008. A lecture hall with a stage and multimedia capabilities was completed. An earth science lab was completed, providing more space for experimentation in the science department. With its completion, the number of labs available to students is four, one for each of the major sciences. The largest and most noticeable upgrade is to the school entrance, which now has a new reception area and office space for student-teacher consultations. The rest of the school also received technological upgrades, including the installation of SMART Boards in most classrooms.

Athletics

Students cheer on the Panthers at the 63rd Annual Invitational. 63rdTourney2010.jpg
Students cheer on the Panthers at the 63rd Annual Invitational.

St. Anselm's competes in the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference at the middle school and varsity levels in several sports each season. During the 20-year period from 2000 to 2020, the Panthers won 35 conference championships in basketball, soccer, baseball, tennis, cross country, swimming, and track and field. [10]

St. Anselm's has hosted the longest-running high school basketball tournament in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. [11] The St. Anselm's Invitational has been a tradition at the school since 1948.[ citation needed ]

Student life

The It's Academic team is nationally ranked, with members often participating in televised quiz bowl tournaments hosted at various schools. [12]

The high school newspaper, ThePriory Press, and the yearbook, the Priory Perspective, are student-run and contributed to by the junior and senior classes. The Panther, the middle school newspaper, is also student-run.

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Benet's Hall, Oxford</span> Permanent private hall of the University of Oxford

St Benet's Hall was a permanent private hall (PPH) of the University of Oxford, originally a Roman Catholic religious house of studies. It closed in 2022. The principal building was located at the northern end of St Giles' on its western side, close to the junction with Woodstock Road, Oxford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Leo University</span> Private Catholic university in St. Leo, Florida, U.S.

Saint Leo University is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts university in St. Leo, Florida. It was established in 1889. The university is associated with the Holy Name Monastery, a Benedictine convent, and Saint Leo Abbey, a Benedictine monastery. The university and the abbey are both named for Pope Leo the Great, bishop of Rome from 440 to 461. The name also honors Leo XIII, who was Pope at the time the university was founded, and Leo Haid, then abbot of Maryhelp Abbey in North Carolina, now Belmont Abbey, who participated in founding the university and served as its first president.

The Saint Louis Priory School, a Catholic secondary day school for boys, is located on a 150-acre campus in Creve Coeur, St. Louis County, Missouri, within the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. The school is run by the Benedictine monks of Saint Louis Abbey as part of their religious ministry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Beda University</span> Roman Catholic university in Manila, Philippines

San Beda University is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Order of Saint Benedict in San Miguel, Manila, Philippines. It was founded by the Benedictines in 1901. The main campus is situated in Mendiola, San Miguel, Manila and provides tertiary education. It has a satellite campus that provides elementary and high school education in Taytay, Rizal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Anselm College</span> Benedictine college in Goffstown, New Hampshire, U.S.

Saint Anselm College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1888, it is the third-oldest Catholic college in New England. Named after Saint Anselm of Canterbury, the college continues to have a fully functioning and independent Benedictine abbey attached to it, Saint Anselm Abbey. As of 2017, its enrollment was approximately 2,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Meinrad Archabbey</span> Benedictine monastery in Ferdinand, Indiana

Saint Meinrad Archabbey is a Catholic monastery in Spencer County, Indiana, US, was founded by monks from Einsiedeln Abbey in Switzerland on March 21, 1854, and is home to approximately 79 monks. The Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology is also located on the premises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Subiaco Abbey (Arkansas)</span> United States historic place

Subiaco Abbey is an American Benedictine monastery located in the Arkansas River valley of Logan County, Arkansas, part of the Swiss-American Congregation of Benedictine monasteries. It is home to thirty-nine Benedictine monks. The abbey and the preparatory school it operates, Subiaco Academy, are major features of the town of Subiaco, Arkansas. It is named after the original Subiaco, Italy, where the first monastery founded by Saint Benedict was located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Anselm's Abbey (Washington, D.C.)</span> Benedictine monastery in Washington, D.C.

St. Anselm's Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey located at 4501 South Dakota Avenue, N.E., in Washington, D.C. It operates the boys' middle and high school St. Anselm's Abbey School, which was ranked by the Washington Post as the most challenging in Washington, D.C., and as the most challenging private high school in the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colegio San Carlos</span> Private Catholic school in Bogotá, Colombia

Colegio San Carlos is an all-male, private, bilingual school in Bogotá, Colombia. The school has been recognized as one of the sources of many national leaders.

Benedictine High School is a private, Roman Catholic, college preparatory high school for boys, located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The school serves grades 9–12 and has an enrollment of over 340 students for the 2017–2018 school year. It is a part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. Benedictine's sister school is Beaumont School of Cleveland Heights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conception Abbey</span> Benedictine monastery in Conception, Missouri

Conception Abbey, site of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, is a monastery of the Swiss-American Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation. The monastery, founded by the Swiss Engelberg Abbey in 1873 in northwest Missouri's Nodaway County, was raised to a conventual priory in 1876 and elevated to an abbey in 1881. In 2021 the community numbered fifty-eight monks who celebrate the Eucharist and Liturgy of the Hours daily and who staff and administer Conception Seminary College, The Printery House, and the Abbey Guest Center. Monks also serve as parish priests and hospital chaplains in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph and other dioceses. There is also a large postal facility attached to The Printery House, operated by lay employees, which includes package shipping and delivery facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Louis Abbey</span> Benedictine monastery in Creve Coeur, Missouri

The Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Louis is an abbey of the Catholic English Benedictine Congregation (EBC) located in Creve Coeur, in St. Louis County, Missouri in the United States. The Abbey is an important presence in the spiritual life of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The monks of the Abbey live their faith according to the Benedictine discipline of 'prayer and work', praying the Divine Office five times daily, celebrating daily Masses in English and Latin, and working in the two parishes under their pastoral care and in the Saint Louis Priory School, which the Abbey runs as an apostolate. The Abbey and its school sit on a 150-acre (0.61 km2) campus in west St. Louis County, in the city of Creve Coeur.

Oakcrest School is an independent liberal arts school for girls grades 6–12 located in Vienna, Virginia. It is guided by the teachings of the Catholic Church and the spirituality of Opus Dei. In 2023, Niche ranked Oakcrest School 794 out of 4,990 private schools in the United States, making it the 32nd best in Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint John's Preparatory School (Minnesota)</span> School in Collegeville, , Minnesota, United States

Saint John’s Preparatory School (SJP) is a Catholic co-educational, day and boarding college preparatory school located in Collegeville, Minnesota. Founded in 1857, it is located in the Diocese of Saint Cloud and is administered by the Benedictine monks of Saint John's Abbey. The school includes a middle school consisting of grades 6–8 and an upper school consisting of grades 9–12. The student body consists of students from the local area along with 5- and 7-day boarding students from across the United States and around the world. In the 2018–19 academic year, the student body included students from 24 different cities and towns in Minnesota, 4 states and 13 different countries.

St. Augustine High School is a Catholic Diocesan co-educational private high school located in Laredo, Texas, United States. Grades 9 through 12 are taught in a Christian environment. St. Augustine is the only Catholic high school in Laredo. Approximately 390 students attend the school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ampleforth Abbey</span> Church in North Yorkshire, England

Ampleforth Abbey is a monastery of Benedictine monks a mile to the east of Ampleforth, North Yorkshire, England, part of the English Benedictine Congregation. It descends from the pre-Reformation community at Westminster Abbey through the last surviving monk from Westminster, Sigebert Buckley. As of 2023 the monastery has 46 monks, and sometimes will have 50 nuns of the monastery organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph John Gerry</span> American Benedictine monk and prelate (1928–2023

Joseph John Gerry, O.S.B., was an American Benedictine monk and prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Beda College Alabang</span> Private college in Metro Manila, Philippines

San Beda College Alabang and is a private, Catholic basic and higher education institution run by the Benedictine monks in Cupang, Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Anselm Abbey (New Hampshire)</span> Benedictine monastery in Goffstown, New Hampshire

Saint Anselm Abbey, located in Goffstown, New Hampshire, United States, is a Benedictine abbey composed of men living under the Rule of Saint Benedict within the Catholic Church. The abbey was founded in 1889 under the patronage of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, a Benedictine monk of Bec and former archbishop of Canterbury in England. The monks are involved in the operation of Saint Anselm College. The abbey is a member of the American-Cassinese Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation.

St. Benedict's Conventual Priory, Digos, Davao del Sur, Philippines, is a Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of Missionary Benedictines of Saint Ottilien. Established in 1983 at the request of Bishop Generoso Camiña of the Diocese of Digos, the monastery is currently home to 21 monks. Conventual Priory Fr Edgar Friedmann is the community's superior.

References

  1. "Find a School". Archdiocese of Washington Catholic Schools.
  2. MSA-CESS. "MSA-Commission on Secondary Schools" . Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  3. Academics & Curricula - Course of Study
  4. Class of 2011 Excels on AP Exams
  5. College Acceptances
  6. Mathews, Jay. "Challenge Index." Live Online Discussion. WashingtonPost.com
  7. Mathews, Jay. "Class Struggle: Numbers that private schools fear." WashingtonPost.com
  8. Willis, Laurie. "St. Frances students to get advanced courses via satellite." Baltimore Sun, August 30, 2000, pg. 3B. Baltimore Sun
  9. "These Are the Top 10 Catholic High Schools in the Country". Town & Country. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  10. Athletics.
  11. St. Anselm’s to Host 64th Annual Basketball Invitational
  12. Corbie Chronicle, Fall 2009 Page 9.