Cheverus High School (simply referred to as Cheverus, formerly The Catholic Institute High School) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

college-preparatory school A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to state school, public, Independent school, private independent or p ...

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, United States. It was established in 1917 and is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. It is named after

Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus Jean-Louis Anne Madelain Lefebvre de Cheverus (also known as John Cheverus; 28 January 1768 – 19 July 1836) was a French people, French-born Catholic Church, Catholic prelate who served as the first Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, Bishop ...

, the first Bishop of Boston.

History

Cheverus High School was established in 1917 as The Catholic Institute High School and renamed Cheverus Classical High School in 1925, after

, the first Bishop of Boston. It was initially located on Free Street, moved to

Cumberland Avenue Cumberland Avenue (formerly Cumberland Street; colloquially known as Cumberland Ave) is a downtown street in Portland, Maine, United States. Part of Maine State Route 100, it runs for around from Merrill Street, on Munjoy Hill, in the northeas ...

in 1946, and then to its present location on Ocean Avenue in 1952. The school was originally run by the diocesan clergy and the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

took over responsibility in 1942. In 1998, nine male alumni claimed that they had been molested while attending the school. Two former faculty members were accused. The school confirmed the abuse and apologized to the victims. The victims also accused both the school and the Portland Diocese of hiding information, and that they had previously known about the abuse. Settlements to victims have reached a cumulative seven figures, with ongoing counseling additional.

Academics

Cheverus offers 12

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...

classes, and has an honors option for most of its courses. Students must take 25.5 courses in 4 years, including at least 4 mathematics courses, 4 English courses, 4 theology courses, 3 science courses, 3 foreign language courses (continuing within the same language), and 3 social studies courses.

Notable alumni

Joseph E. Brennan Joseph Edward Brennan (November 2, 1934 – April 5, 2024) was an American lawyer and politician from Maine. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 70th governor of Maine from 1979 to 1987 and in the ...

, lawyer and politician *

Ian Crocker Ian Lowell Crocker (born August 31, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer, five-time Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. During his career, he set world records in the 50- and 100-meter butterfly (long course and short ...

, swimmer * John Joubert, serial killer * Dick Joyce, MLB player * Charles J. Loring Jr., fighter pilot * Emily Durgin, distance runner

Notable faculty

* Rodney S. Quinn, politician * John McLaughlin, television personality and political commentator * James Talbot, rapist

References

External links

* {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland High schools in Portland, Maine Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland Catholic secondary schools in Maine Jesuit high schools in the United States Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in the United States Educational institutions established in 1917 1917 establishments in Maine Sexual abuse scandal in the Society of Jesus Private schools in Portland, Maine