St. Xavier Parish Commercial School, officially The Convent School, was a

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secondary 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., b ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

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. Founded in 1904 by the

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, it remained open until 1960. It was associated with St. Francis Xavier Church of the

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. Fr. Francis J. Finn, S.J., served as its first director. The school was located on Sixth Street downtown, between Sycamore and Main Streets—most likely at 520 Sycamore St. It offered "a two-year course of study—primarily for women—in the business arts", including "

stenography Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''s ...

book-keeping Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. T ...

, and

typesetting Typesetting is the composition of text for publication, display, or distribution by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or '' glyphs'' in digital systems representing '' characters'' (letters and other ...

". Boys from St. Xavier High School also took

typing Typing is the process of writing or inputting text by pressing keys on a typewriter, computer keyboard, mobile phone, or calculator. It can be distinguished from other means of text input, such as handwriting recognition, handwriting and speech ...

classes there; once the Commercial School closed, the high school moved to

Finneytown Finneytown is a census-designated place (CDP) in Springfield Township, Hamilton County, in southwest Ohio, United States, just north of Cincinnati. The population was 12,399 at the 2020 census. Finneytown is home to the second largest private ...

and the parish remained at the downtown location. Tuition was $50 a year during the 1950s.

Notable students

Mildred Howard Mildred Howard (born 1945) is an African-American artist known primarily for her sculptural installation and mixed-media assemblages.Baker, Kenneth"Artist Intrigued by Interaction of Materials, Ability to Revise at Will", ''San Francisco Chronic ...

(attended 1953) – Republican candidate for

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1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

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2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Notable faculty

* Francis J. Finn, S.J. – school director; well-known author

History

The following wa
posted
on "The Catholic Telegraph Photography Project" as a reprint of an article in ''

The Catholic Telegraph ''The Catholic Telegraph'' is a monthly magazine published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati primarily for its 500,000 congregants. The archdiocese covers 19 counties in Ohio, including the Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati and Dayton, Oh ...

'' from August 25, 1944:

1944: “St. Xavier's Commercial School for Girls was founded in 1904 by Father Finn, S.J., the famous author of juvenile books for boys. Its progress through the years has kept pace with the various changes in the business world, until today, in its equipment and modern methods, it is one of Cincinnati's foremost business schools. The Rev. Julian A. Garrity, S.J., is the director of St. Xavier's Commercial School for Girls and the
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (Congregationis Sororum a Domina Nostra Namurcensi) is a Catholic Church, Catholic Religious institute (Catholic), institute of religious sisters, founded to teaching order, provide education to the poor. The i ...
teach in the school. “Two programs are now available. The new intensive secretarial course is open to high school graduates only. This program is arranged so that the students receive individual instruction and are, therefore, capable of progressing according to their maximum ability. The complete course of study including stenography, typewriting, bookkeeping, business correspondence, secretarial practice, comptometry,
dictaphone Dictaphone was an American company founded by Alexander Graham Bell that produced dictation machines. It is now a division of Nuance Communications, based in Burlington, Massachusetts. Although the name "Dictaphone" is a trademark, it has ...
, and office machines offers an opportunity for each girl to fit herself for a business career. “The standard course comprises two years of commercial training for girls who have either not begun or who have not completed their high school training. This program consists of religion, business correspondence, word study, shorthand, bookkeeping, typewriting, business law, rapid calculation, secretarial practice, besides comptometry, dictaphone, mimeographing, and other office machines. “The school's free placement bureau has enjoyed remarkable success in placing its graduates in responsible positions with many of the outstanding business firms in Cincinnati.” (The Catholic Telegraph, August 25, 1944)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Xavier Commercial School Private schools in Cincinnati Defunct girls' schools in the United States Defunct schools in Ohio Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur schools Educational institutions established in 1904 1960 disestablishments in Ohio Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati St. Xavier High School (Ohio) 1904 establishments in Ohio Girls' schools in Ohio