Central Catholic High School (Bloomington, Illinois)

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Central Catholic High School
Central Catholic High School logo
Our difference is our strength.
Address
1201 Airport Road
Bloomington, Illinois, McLean County 61704-2534
United States
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Information
School type Private diocesan school
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic[1]
Patron saint(s) Elizabeth Ann Seton[2]
Established 1886; 139 years ago (1886)[3]
Founder Michael Weldon[4]:152
Status Operational
Locale Small city[1]
School board Advisory Committee[5]
Oversight Pastors' Board[5]
Superintendent Sharon Weiss[6]
CEEB Code 140340[7]
NCES School ID 00346865[1]
Chairman Mike Alexander[5]
Principal Sean Foster[6]
Chaplain Peter Pilon[7]
Faculty 21 full-time, 5 part-time[7]
Grades 9–12
Gender coed[1]
Enrollment 350[1] (2013)
 • Grade 9 92
 • Grade 10 78
 • Grade 11 99
 • Grade 12 81
Average class size 19[7]
Student to teacher ratio 16:1[8]
Schedule type Semester, daily[9]
Schedule M–F except holidays
Hours in school day 6.7[1]
Campus size 15 acres[3]
Area 100,000 square feet[10]
Campus type Micro-urban[11]
Color(s)      Navy blue
     White
     Vegas gold[12]
Fight song Victory March variant[9]
Athletics IHSA 1A/2A/3A[6]
Athletics conference Corn Belt
Sports 9 boys', 8 girls'[13]
Team name Saints[6]
Rival University High School[14]
Accreditation AdvancED[15]
National ranking WP: 1,427[16] (2015)
Average ACT scores (2015) 24.3[7]
Publication Central Catholic @ A Glance[17]
Newspaper Herald of the Saints[17]
Yearbook Centrix
Endowment $3,842,936 (2014)[3]
Budget $3,603,811.23 (2013–14)[3]
School fees vary
Annual tuition $6,995 parish affiliated
$8,795 non-affiliated[18]
Revenue $3,633,023.17 (2012–13)[3]
Feeder schools Corpus Christi Catholic School, Epiphany Catholic School, St. Mary's School[19][20]
Graduates (2015) 96[21]
Affiliation NCEA[1]
Website <strong%20class= "error"><span%20class="scribunto-error"%20id="mw-scribunto-error-3">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wd%20at%20line%20405:%20invalid%20escape%20sequence%20near%20'"^'. http://<strong%20class="error"><span%20class="scribunto-error"%20id="mw-scribunto-error-3">Lua%20error%20in%20Module:Wd%20at%20line%20405:%20invalid%20escape%20sequence%20near%20'"^'.Lua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Last updated: 3 September 2015

Central Catholic High School, often abbreviated to Central Catholic or CCHS, is a private co-educational Catholic high school in Bloomington, Illinois, United States, that serves approximately 331 students in the Bloomington-Normal area.[6][7] CCHS is one of seven diocesan high schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria[22] and the only Catholic high school in McLean County.[23]

Begun in 1886 as St. Mary's High School, the school was renamed Trinity High School in 1928 after construction of a new high school building. After transitioning from a parish school to a diocesan school in 1967, the school was again renamed Central Catholic High School. In 2003 CCHS moved from downtown Bloomington to its current east side location. The current school building is more than 100,000 square feet on a fifteen acre property and has capacity for 500 students.

Central Catholic has extracurricular activities including sports teams, student clubs and organizations. The school participates in Illinois High School Association athletics and is a member of Corn Belt Conference. Teams at CCHS have won state championships in boys' and girls' basketball, football, girls' track and field, and volleyball.

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History

St. Mary's High School

File:Illustrated Bloomington and Normal, Illinois - Saint Mary's School.PNG
Circa 1896 photograph of the St. Mary's School building

CCHS has roots in St. Mary's School, built at a cost of $26,000 (equivalent to $685,000 in 2021)[24] by Holy Trinity Parish in 1884 during the pastorate of Michael Weldon.[4]:152 The building was located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Locust and Center Streets in Bloomington, Illinois.[25] Initially a grade school, the building was altered in 1886 to add high school classes. Two graduates in 1898 composed the school's first graduating class. The parish paid off the debt for the school building in 1909. In 1912 Illinois State University and the University of Illinois recognized St. Mary's high school curriculum. The graduating class that spring had twenty students.[3] Sinsinawa Dominican sisters served as faculty at St. Mary's and subsequently at Trinity High School.[3][4]

Trinity High School

File:1933 Trinity High School postcard large with blemishes.jpg
Circa 1933 postcard illustrating Trinity High School

As early as 1920, inspectors from the University of Illinois and the Illinois Department of Education were dissatisfied with the high school facilities at St. Mary's School.[4]:207 Land for a separate high school building next to Holy Trinity Church at 712 North Center Street[26] was purchased from the Dominican sisters in summer 1922 for $25,000 (equivalent to $353,000 in 2021).[4]:201 However, due to the poor health of pastor Michael Weldon, construction was postponed until after his death.[4]:207 The cornerstone of the school building was laid on 25 September 1927.[4]:223 Costing $285,000 (equivalent to $3,882,000 in 2021),[4]:224 the building was completed on 3 September 1928 and opened one week later as Trinity High School.[4]:224 Fifty-nine seniors graduated the following June.[3] The St. Mary's School building was renovated in summer 1928 and continued to serve as Holy Trinity Grade School.[4]:226

In 1929, Trinity High School gained accreditation from the North Central Association.[3] The school joined the IHSA in 1941 when private schools were allowed to participate.[27] A $300,000 (equivalent to $2,600,000 in 2021) funding drive in 1954 financed the additions of a cafeteria and south annex to the school. The annex initially housed 7th and 8th grade classrooms to alleviate overcrowding at Holy Trinity Grade School.[3] After construction of new grade schools in 1963,[26] annex classrooms were used for math and physical education classes.[3] Trinity High School's gymnasium, nicknamed "The Pit", was known to be intimidating to visiting teams due to the close proximity of the stands to the gym floor.[27][28]

Central Catholic High School

File:Central Catholic High School Roundabout Entrance, Bloomington Illinois.JPG
CCHS roundabout entrance
File:CCHS enrollment - 1989-90 to 2014-15 school years.png
CCHS enrollment from school years 1989-90 to 2014-15

In the fall of 1967,[7] Trinity High School became a diocesan school and was renamed Central Catholic High School to reflect the role of other regional parishes in the governance of the school.[29] The old St. Mary's School building was demolished in 1969.[30] Private donations in 1991 and 1992 funded renovations to the chemistry lab, the creation of computer lab, and updates to the biology lab.[31][32][33] In compliance with a diocesan directive, Central Catholic implemented mandatory hair sample drug testing of students in 2000.[34][35][36]

Church officials began considering sites for a new school building in 1996, initially considering a west side location in the former Chicago & Alton railroad yards.[37] This site was later rejected due to the large amount of environmental cleanup needed.[38] In February 1998, school officials announced plans to construct a new school building in east or southeast Bloomington after renovation of the current building was deemed not cost effective.[28][39] That July, the pastors board announced fifteen acres of Deneen family farmland in east Bloomington were reserved for a new school building.[40] An $11 million fundraising effort to build a new school on the land gifted to the diocese began in 2001.[3][41] Construction started on 12 August 2002 with an estimated cost of $11.4 million (equivalent to $15,000,000 in 2021).[42] In June 2003, Mark Williams - pastor of Holy Trinity Parish - announced the decision to demolish the old school building as renovation at an estimated cost of $4 million (equivalent to $5,100,000 in 2021) was considered too expensive.[43] The new building at 1201 Airport Road opened on 25 August 2003[44] with 323 students enrolled that fall.[45] In June and July 2004, the Center Street school building was razed[46] and in the following year Bill Hundman Memorial Field was completed.[47]

In 2005, the CCHS accountant was charged with embezzling money from the school.[48] CCHS enrollment peaked in 2009 with 423 students.[47] As $2,000,000 in financial pledges for construction of the new school building were left unfulfilled, capital campaigns at the four regional Catholic parishes were started in 2011 to pay off the remaining debt.[23] A 2013 upgrade installed school-wide wireless internet access[49] in conjunction with a new bring your own device program.[3]

Between 1898 and 2014, 6,556 students have graduated from the school. This includes 406 students from St. Mary's High School between 1898 and 1928 as well as 2,482 students from Trinity High School between 1929 and 1967.[3]

Campus

Central Catholic High School is located on a 15-acre site[50] at 1201 Airport Road in Bloomington, Illinois. The school property is bordered to the west by Airport Road and to the south by Cornelius Drive. McGraw Park borders the school property to the north and east.[51]

Containing more than 100,000 square feet[10] with a capacity of 500 students,[52] the school building is divided into two wings.[10] The academic wing contains sixteen classrooms, four science labs, two art labs, a library, and a computer lab. The social wing is bounded on one end by the 1400-seat Cvengros Gymnasium and on the other by the performing arts center - a 560-seat auditorium, audio lab, band room, and chorus room. Between are a 100-seat chapel, cafeteria, commons area, faculty dining area, main office, weight room and four locker rooms.[50][10]

A roundabout lies on the south side of the school building. On the north side is the school parking lot and Bill Hundman Memorial Field, which contains the school football field and track.[51] CCHS uses McGraw Park facilities for baseball, softball, and tennis.[53]

link=File:2011 USGS orthoimage of Central Catholic High School and McGraw Park.tif
Spring 2011 USGS near-infrared aerial orthoimage of Central Catholic High School and McGraw Park
link=File:Central Catholic High School gymnasium, Bloomington Illinois.JPG
Cvengros Gymnasium
link=File:Bill Hundman Memorial Field at Central Catholic High School, Bloomington Illinois.JPG
Bill Hundman Memorial Field

Academics

Curriculum

Community service

Students are required to perform 5 hours of community service per quarter, with the service intended to be connected to one of the Catholic Works of Mercy.[9]

Rankings

The Washington Post ranked Central Catholic High School in the top 7% of most challenging high schools nationally in 2015. It also ranked CCHS 44th in Illinois, placing it in the top 5% of schools statewide.[16][54][55]

Extracurricular activities

Central Catholic has approximately thirty student activities, clubs, and organizations in addition to sports teams. A school play and musical are performed each fall and spring respectively.[9]

Athletics

File:St. Mary's High School first football team.PNG
The first football team at St. Mary's High School in 1924

Central Catholic High School participates in Illinois High School Association athletics and competes in classes 1A, 2A, and 3A for various sports. It is a member of the Corn Belt Conference.[6] Baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis and track and field are currently offered boys' sports. Basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball are the currently offered girls' sports.[13]

Competitive sports at the high school date to the 1920s. Football started in 1924 at St. Mary's High School under coach Earl Peirce followed by a boys' basketball team in 1926 under coach Charley Bennett and a baseball team in 1928 with coach Bill Connors. The baseball team was undefeated in 1929 and 1930.[6] Before the IHSA allowed private schools to participate in 1941, the boys' basketball team won State Catholic Tournament championships under Bennett in 1927 and 1928 and placed second in the three years following. It was also the State Catholic Tournament champion in 1933 under coach John Callans and in 1940 and 1941 under coach Essau Dotlich.[30][27] The Central Catholic football team has qualified for playoffs almost every year since 1982.[6] Central Catholic High School is the first school in the state of Illinois to win state football titles in four different classes.[56]

Football practice field

On 10 November 2014, the Bloomington city council voted 5-4 to purchase four acres of land near McGraw Park in Empire Business park using state funds and to rent the land to CCHS for use as a football practice field. The vote was made with the understanding that the current football practice field on land owned by the Central Illinois Regional Airport was in a Federal Aviation Agency restricted flight path zone and the school would have to move to another location in 2015.[59] In 2009, State senator and CCHS alum Bill Brady had arranged a $750,000 state legislative grant for the purchase as part of a General Assembly capital bill.[60][61] Alderman Jim Fruin, another CCHS alum, voted in favor. CCHS was to spend at least $20,000 to improve the land, pay an annual rent of $1,700, as well as maintain, mow, and clean the field. The annual cost to the city was estimated to be $2,500 and the land was to be used as a park when not in use by the school.[59]

After the vote, alderman Joni Painter discovered from the school website that Fruin was a member of the CCHS Board of Trustees, an interest that was not previously announced.[62] It was also learned that CCHS could renew the lease for its current practice field for up to another fifteen years. Fruin and CCHS principal Sean Foster stated they had believed the contract could not be renewed past 2015.[63] Mayor Tari Renner refused to sign-off on the approval pending an attorney general opinion on whether any conflict of interest law or ordinance was violated. Fruin stated he would defer to the attorney general and that did not believe there was a conflict of interest because trustees serve only an advisory role.[64] A Pantagraph editorial later suggested several other potential conflicts of interest: the Deneen family - who donated land for the new school building - were stakeholders in the development firm from which the land would be purchased, Fruin's real estate agency - Coldwell Banker - was to oversee the transaction though he would have no role, and CCHS football coach Mike Moews is the brother of city parks superintendent Bobby Moews.[65]

At a 24 November 2014 council meeting, Painter made a motion to reconsider the agreement. The land deal was unanimously rejected by the council after Fruin recused himself from the vote. The council discussed other potential uses for the money[62] despite prior statements by senator Bill Brady that the money could be reallocated to other communities in his district if it wasn't used to expand McGraw Park.[62][66][67] Renner stated that the grant could be used for any Bloomington parks and trails. According to Brady, the money was directed solely toward McGraw Park at the direction of former Bloomington Mayor Steve Stockton. Stockton disputed this characterization, stating that he had discussed alternative uses for the money.[62][68]

On 21 November 2014 the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus asked the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to halt the grant. Learning of this several weeks later, Renner disagreed that the caucus had authority to prevent use of the money. The city council continued discussions of how to allocate the money while Brady formed a committee headed by former Bloomington mayor Jesse Smart to determine how the grant should be used.[69][70][71] On 7 December 2014 the Bloomington City Council approved use of the grant money for improvements to the Constitution Trail, Miller Park pavilion, and Sunnyside Park.[72]

CCHS renewed its lease for the airport practice field in mid December 2014.[73] On 14 January 2015, Brady's grant committee completed its review and recommended allocating money for the Sunnyside Park and Miller Park pavilion projects in Bloomington as well as three other projects in Lake Bloomington, Delavan, Illinois, and McLean, Illinois.[74][75] The conflict of interest review was called off after the 21 November vote, though the city legal department clarified conflicts of interest in the city code.[76] As of December 2015 none of the communities have received any money from the grant pending passage of a state budget.[61]

Notable alumni

Former principals

  • Richard Morehouse (1984–1991): CCHS enrollment briefly fell below 200 students in 1989 before increasing by 25% near the end of Morehouse's tenure.[77][78][79]
  • Joy Allen (1991–2014): Under Joy Allen, CCHS saw an increase in enrollment from 213 students in 1991 to 346 students in 2014. Allen oversaw the planning, design, and capital campaigns for the Airport Road school building and Bill Hundman Memorial Field. During her tenure, Central Catholic increased ACT test scores, added additional Advanced Placement courses, and broadened its curriculum.[47][80]

References

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Further reading

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External links

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ The definition of micro-urban in this source applies to the Bloomington-Normal area. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ 51.0 51.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  60. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 62.2 62.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  63. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  64. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  65. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  66. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  68. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  69. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  70. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  71. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  77. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  78. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  79. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  80. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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