Fontbonne Hall is an all-girls,

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 ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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., ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, United States. Established in 1937 by the Sisters of St. Joseph, it is located within the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state, State of New York (state), New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City borou ...

. In 2013, celebrating its 75th year, school leadership noted that throughout its history, Fontbonne had educated nearly 10,000 women who “have become noted doctors, lawyers, engineers, leaders in business and the arts, educators, mothers, and even, like Sister

Ita Ford Ita Ford, M.M. (April 23, 1940 – December 2, 1980) was an American Maryknoll Sister who served as a missionary in Bolivia, Chile and El Salvador. She worked with the poor and war refugees. On December 2, 1980, she was beaten, raped, and murde ...

, class of 1957, martyrs for their cause.” Making reference to the

boroughs of New York City The boroughs of New York City are the five major governmental districts that comprise New York City. They are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough is coextensive with a respective Administrative divisions of ...

, Fontbonne's students predominantly come from southwest Brooklyn, southern Queens, and Staten Island.

Notable alumni

Maria Bartiromo Maria Sara Bartiromo (born September 11, 1967) is an American conservative journalist and author who has also worked as a financial reporter and news anchor. She is the host of ''Mornings with Maria'' and ''Maria Bartiromo's Wall Street'' on t ...

, television financial journalist * Kerry Butler, Broadway and TV actress * Sister

, M.M., missionary

Curriculum

Students may earn a Fontbonne Hall Regents Diploma or Fontbonne Hall Advanced Regents Diploma, which requires eight NYS Regents Exams in English, history, mathematics, science and language. In recent years, the curriculum was expanded to include courses, such as Forensic Science, Child Development, American Sign Language, and Accounting and Law.

College Prep

The school offers various Advanced Placement courses, including English Language, English Literature, U.S. History, Calculus, Statistics, Biology, Italian and Spanish. Eligible students can also participate in the St. John’s University College Advantage Program (CAP) to earn college credits. CAP courses include English 12, Religious Studies 12, Italian 4, Spanish 4, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, and Anatomy and Physiology. The school encourages students to pursue academic and career interests, as well as self-improvement and community engagement over summers. Students enroll in leadership and pre-college programs at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York, United States. The university enrolls over 16,000 students and offers over 500 academic programs at its main campuses, LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post on Long I ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

and

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

STEM Programs

Fontbonne students participate in the ACE mentor and

Manhattan College Manhattan University (previously Manhattan College) is a private, Catholic university in New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers (Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools) as an academy fo ...

engineering programs. Fontbonne students also recently started participating in a STEM Workshop at CUNY Graduate Center and Techweek NYC. The school is collaborating with St. Francis College and NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering to provide more learning opportunities for students interested in the STEM fields.

Spiritual life

Fontbonne’s culture is tied to the Catholic tradition. At school Masses, students and faculty sing the hymn, “The Servant Song,” to express a spirit of service to other members of the Fontbonne family and to the larger community. Four years of Religious Studies are required, beginning with the Sacred Scriptures in freshman year and ending with a course in Loving Relationships in senior year. Fontbonne students have a day retreat for three years and an overnight retreat in their last year. School Masses are held for major holidays, including Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as to celebrate Catholic feast days, such as the Feast of St. Joseph.

Culture

Fontbonne maintains the small school environment through competitive enrollment and small class size. Maximum enrollment for each of the four years is about 120 young women. Students are assigned to a faculty advisor or FA and the homeroom led by the FA for four years. The faculty advisor develops a relationship with each student and works to actively discuss the student’s problems, achievements, interests and goals. Fontbonne welcomes prospective students to an annual fall Open House and to visit the school during visit days in the 7th and 8th grade”

Sports

Fontbonne offers a wide variety of sports. The school is known for its outstanding basketball, softball, volleyball, and soccer teams who have been champions in their divisions for the last four years. Fontbonne also has a competitive cheerleading team. Four out of 10 students are on athletic teams that compete on the local and state levels. In addition, Fontbonne has tennis, swim, golf, lacrosse, and track teams. The first Fontbonne student was named to the All-New York City girls' volleyball team selection by MSG Varsity in 2013.

References

; Notes

External links

School Website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1937 Girls' schools in New York City Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Sisters of Saint Joseph schools Roman Catholic high schools in Brooklyn 1937 establishments in New York City