Benedictine Academy was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

parochial, college preparatory

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

that served young women in

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

s in Elizabeth, in Union County, in the

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. The school was opened in 1915 by the Benedictine Sisters of Elizabeth, Saint Walburga Monastery, and operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. In the wake of declining enrollment, the school announced that it would close at the end of the 2019–20 school year. Compared to an enrollment in 2014-15 of 174 students, the school estimated that 2020-21 enrollment would be 115. The school had been accredited by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, also referred to as the Middle States Association or MSA, is an accreditor in the United States. Historically, it has accredited schools in the Mid-Atlantic states region of the northeas ...

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1996.Benedictine Academy
,

Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed October 1, 2011. As of the 2019–20 school year, the school had an enrollment of 127 students and 15.6 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio The student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio refers to the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers or staff in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that ...

of 8.1:1. The school's student body was 42.5% (54) White, 26.8% (34) Black, 28.3% (36) Hispanic, 1.6% (2) two or more races and 0.8% (1) Asian.School data for Benedictine Academy

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

. Accessed March 10, 2022. Benedictine Academy welcomed students of any race, color, national and ethnic origins. The school faculty comprised Benedictine Sisters, members of other religious communities and lay teachers, 70% of whom had advanced degrees.

History

The school opened in 1915. In the 2014–15 school year its student body was 174. It had 122 students, 35 in the 12th grade, in spring 2020, and it was projected for 2020–21 that its student body would be 155, including 20 in the 9th grade. The school closed in spring 2020. The school site was purchased for $5.5 million in 2022 by the Elizabeth Public Schools.

Awards and recognition

In June 2011, Benedictine Academy was recognized as the Jefferson Awards for Public Service "Best New School" in recognition of programs developed at the school to combat bullying and human trafficking.

Athletics

The Benedictine Academy Green BeesBenedictine Academy

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which comprises public and private high schools in Union County and established following a 2010 reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the

. With 200 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public B for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 37 to 366 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group I for public schools). The girls spring track team was the Non-Public B state champion in 2010.NJSIAA Girls Spring Track Summary of Group Titles

. Accessed May 1, 2023.

Graduation requirements

Graduation requirements included: 4 years of English, Math, Religious Studies, and Physical Education/Health & Safety; 3 years of Science, Social Studies, and World Language; 2 years of American History, 1 year of World Culture, and 1 year of Art. Advanced Placement and Honors Courses are offered in Biology, Pre-Calculus, English Literature, U.S. History, French and Spanish. Elective courses are offered in Economics, Computer Technology, Psychology, Law, Media, and the Arts.

Technology

The school has a computer lab, SMART boards in every classroom, a new interactive science lab, high-speed wireless Internet access for students, and an integrated laptop program.

Notable alumni

* Lauren H. Carson (born 1954), member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is ...

, representing the 75th District since 2015. * Arline M. Friscia, politician who represented the 19th Legislative District in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

from 1996 to 2002. * Virginia Long (born 1942, class of 1959), former

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

on the

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Benedictine Sisters of Elizabeth, NJ

In September 1864, three Benedictine sisters arrived from

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, at the request of Peter Henry Lemke, pastor of St. Michael's, who was in need of German-speaking sisters to teach at the parish school. In 1868, they became an independent congregation and moved to the newly built St. Walburga's Convent. The sisters taught at St. Henry's parish school, and also at an academy for girls established at St. Walburga's. In 1903, they opened Our Lady of Victory sanitarium with a training school for nurses at

Kingston, New York Kingston is the only Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in, and the county seat of, Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany, New York, Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grou ...

."St. Walburga's Convent, Elizabeth, N.J.", ''The Catholic Church in the United States of America'', Catholic Editing Company, 1914, p. 27
/ref> The following year, services expanded to Benedictine Hospital on Mary's Avenue. The hospital was later taken over by HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley. In 1906, a convent and private school were established at Brooklands, DC. In 1923, the St. Walburga's Monastery re-located to North Broad Street."History", Benedictine Sisters, Elizabeth, NJ
/ref> The sisters taught at elementary schools in the dioceses of Newark, Cleveland and Manchester. Benedictine Preschool opened in the fall of 1996. Due to declining enrollment with the availability of tuition-free programs in public schools, the preschool closed in 2019.

References

External links

Benedictine Academy websiteData for Benedictine Academy

{{Authority control 1915 establishments in New Jersey 2020 disestablishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1915 Educational institutions disestablished in 2020 Education in Elizabeth, New Jersey Girls' schools in New Jersey Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools Private high schools in Union County, New Jersey Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark Catholic secondary schools in New Jersey Benedictine secondary schools American Benedictines German Benedictines Christian monasteries established in the 19th century Benedictine nunneries in the United States