Xavier High School (New York City) Explained

Xavier High School
Former Name:College of St. Francis Xavier (also known as St. Francis Xavier College)
Seal Image:Xavier English Seal.png
Seal Size:175px
Zipcode:10011
Country:United States
Motto:"Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam" (Latin)
"For the Greater Glory of God"
Religious Affiliation:Roman Catholic (Jesuit)
Ceeb:334145
President:Jack Raslowsky
Chairman:Paul Enright
Headmaster:Kim Smith
Faculty:69.6 FTEs[1]
Enrollment:975 (2022–23)
Ratio:11:1
Campus Type:Urban
School Colors: Maroon and blue
Slogan:"Men for Others"[2]
Song:"Sons of Xavier"
Athletics:20 sports
Athletics Conference:Catholic High School Athletic Association, New York section
Nickname:Knights
Publication:Xavier Magazine
Newspaper:The Xavier Review
Picture Caption:Xavier High School in 2019

Xavier High School is an American independent university-preparatory high school for boys run by the USA Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus, in the Chelsea neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York.

Named for St. Francis Xavier (1506–1552), it was founded by John Larkin in 1847 as the College of St. Francis Xavier and also known as St. Francis Xavier College.[3]

History

The school was founded in 1847 by John Larkin, a professor at St. John's College in Rosehill Manor, then in Westchester County, now a part of the Borough of the Bronx, and which later became Fordham University. It taught boys from the age of eight to twenty-one. The Regents of the University of the State of New York chartered Xavier in 1861.[4]

A military-training unit began at the school in 1886 under the direction of the National Guard, and membership became mandatory in 1892. Five years later, collegiate and secondary studies were separated into different departments, and the college-level department was closed in 1912. The student regiment became a Junior ROTC unit in 1935, and the school was declared a military institute in 1968, offering four years of military science and training which would be recognized upon enrollment in any branch of the United States military. Participation in military studies was declared optional in 1971.

The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools since 1927.[5]

In 2008, Xavier High School announced that then President Daniel James Gatti would be retiring. Gatti's retirement was pushed back until the end of the 2009 school year. He was succeeded by Hoboken School Superintendent, Jack Raslowsky, the school's 33rd president and the first time in history that the position would be held by a lay person. Upon ascending to the role, Raslowsky oversaw a development operation that leading to a significant physical expansion of the Xavier High School campus.[6] [7]

In March 2021, Xavier High School announced that following a nationwide search, Kim Smith, vice president of Boston College High School, was chosen to take over as headmaster starting July 1. Smith, who would be replacing Headmaster Michael LiVigni, was to become the first female headmaster in the over 170-year history of the school.[8]

Demographics

As of 2021–22, the school had an enrollment of 1,063 students and 95 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11:1.

The school's student body was 70.3% White, 3.9% Black, 12.0% Hispanic, 3.7% Asian, and 10.1% two or more races.[9]

Academics

The school offers courses under the categories of religion, English, history, modern and classical languages, mathematics, science, fine arts, computer science and technology, military science, health and physical education, and a guidance department program.

Xavier's courses prepare students to embrace the five goals of the Profile of a Graduate of a Jesuit School at Graduation (the "Grad at Grad"). These goals—being open to growth, intellectually competent, religious, loving, and committed to doing justice—are the foundation of Xavier's curriculum and prepare students to live a life of competence, conscience, and compassion.[10]

Athletics

Xavier, a Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) member, houses teams including baseball, basketball, bowling, cross-country, football, fencing, golf, hockey, indoor/outdoor track and field, rugby, soccer, lacrosse, swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball, and wrestling. Other extracurricular activities include boxing club, choir, speech and debate, chess team, anime, film, science fiction, and skiing /snowboard clubs, school newspaper, The Review, drama productions, UNICEF Club, and the Blue Knight Jazz Band. The Blue Knight Band won best trombone section at the 2010 Villanova University Big Band Festival.

Xavier's current mascot is a knight, and all of its athletic teams are referred to as the Knights. However, for many years, the teams were called the Cadets, a reflection of Xavier's military program, while a terrier was used as a mascot. After a variety of replacements, including the 1980s Bruins, the nickname of the Knights was decided upon in the early 1990s and has been official since.

Football

The Xavier Football program began in the late 19th century. It has a continued rivalry with the Bronx's Fordham Preparatory School. The two schools compete in an annual "Turkey Bowl", the oldest high school football rivalry in New York City.[11] Their very first game against one another took place in the late 19th century when the game was called off due to darkness, ending in a tie. Many of these football matches were played at Manhattan's famed Polo Grounds, until its demolition.

Rugby

Rugby is a popular sport at Xavier. Rugby has varsity status, and fields four teams with over 125 players.[12] Xavier has fielded one of the top rugby teams in the United States since the club's founding in 1976.[13]

Track

The Freshman Track and Field team won the indoor and outdoor 2009 CHSAA Intersectional Championships, the first time in team history.[14] In 2010, the team defended their outdoor victory as sophomores. The Track and Field team competed in the Nationals track meet in Greensboro, North Carolina and finished fifth in both the 4 by 100 and 4 by 200 meter relay, earning Emerging Elite Metals.[15]

Other sports

In 1859 the College of St. Francis Xavier and St. John's College (now Fordham University) played the first collegiate level baseball game, featuring the new nine-man team style of play. Fordham won the game 33–11.[16]

Xavier High School's JV Soccer team won the CHSAA Intersectional Championship in 2008 and 2009.[17]

Buildings

In 2016, the school acquired space inside a 25-story building, 35 West 15th Street, to house Fernandez-Duminuco Hall, occupying 45000square feet of space in the basement and six floors. The other floors house condominiums, and both the school campus and the condominiums have separate entrances.[18]

The building has allowed for the expansion of the arts at Xavier. The expansion includes a new band room, music practice rooms, small ensemble room, recording studio, theater, and STEAM classroom, which houses an expanded computer science and technology department, and a student activities space.

Notable people

Alumni
Faculty

In popular culture

Xavier High School has been used in several television shows and movies, including:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&ID=00919613 School data for Xavier High School
  2. http://www.xavierhs.org/s/717/index.aspx?sid=717&gid=1&pgid=564 "Mission Statement"
  3. News: St. Francis Xavier's College; Twelfth Commencement The New College Building The Graduating Class Prosperity of the College. July 8, 1862. The New York Times. 2017-08-07. en-US. 0362-4331.
  4. Web site: History. Xavier High School.
  5. http://www.msa-cess.org/default.aspx?RelID=606553 Xavier High School
  6. Baldwin, Carly (June 2009). "Hoboken School Superintendent Resigns". NJ News. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  7. https://www.xavierhs.org/s/81/rd16/index.aspx?sid=81&gid=1&pgid=3363 Xavier High School
  8. https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nycs-xavier-hs-names-1st-female-headmaster-in-its-174-year-history/2932606/?amp "NYC's Xavier HS Names 1st Female Headmaster in Its 174-Year History"
  9. News: Xavier High School . US News Education .
  10. Web site: The "Grad at Grad" and Jesuit Schools. May 21, 2014. America Magazine.
  11. News: Robinson. Joshua. A Turkey Day of Prep Pigskin. The Wall Street Journal. November 24, 2010.
  12. http://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/story/_/id/13867848/usa-mike-petri-says-rugby-tier-two-teams-need-play-regularly-best "USA's Mike Petri says tier two rugby needs more games against elite teams"
  13. http://department.xavierhs.org/athletics/Rugby/HistoryPage.htm Xavier Rugby
  14. Web site: 2008-2009. departments. xavierhs.org. 2017-08-07.
  15. Web site: 2010 track . 2011-09-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110823040349/http://www.nationalscholastic.org/outdoornats/result/998 . 2011-08-23 . dead .
  16. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/sports/baseball/06fordham.html For 150 Years, Fordham Baseball’s Tradition of Winning
  17. Web site: JV Soccer Wins CHSAA Championship!. xavierhs.org. 2017-08-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20110727084440/http://www.xavierhs.org/s/717/index.aspx?sid=717&gid=1&page_id=259&pgid=253&cid=645&ecid=1148&search=jv%20soccer%20wins. July 27, 2011.
  18. Kennedy, Mike. Manhattan High School Addition Shares Building with Condominiums . American School & University. February 27, 2017. 2017-03-07.
  19. Solomon, George. "About Dave Anderson" . Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism. Retrieved November 29, 2017. "Dave Anderson, 85, was born in Troy, N.Y., moving with his family as a boy to Brooklyn, N.Y. and graduating from Xavier High School in Manhattan in 1947."
  20. https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/08/obituaries/john-caemmerer-chairman-of-state-senate-transit-panel.html "John Caemmerer, Chairman Of State Senate Transit Panel"
  21. Waggoner, Walter H. "John T. Clancy, 82, Ex-Borough Chief". The New York Times. May 17, 1985. Retrieved November 29, 2017. "Mr. Clancy was born in Long Island City, the son of Patrick J. Clancy, a grocer, and Mary Clancy, both natives of Limerick, Ireland. He attended public schools in Long Island City and St. Francis Xavier High School in Manhattan and then graduated from Fordham University Law School."
  22. http://mobile.nycgovparks.org/?id=11732 "Colonel Donald Cook Square"
  23. News: Dale . Anderson . The Rev. Vincent M. Cooke, 81, 'Visionary' Canisius President . . June 23, 2017 . 2017-07-19.
  24. Web site: Hon. John R. Countryman '50. xavierhsalumni.org. en. 2020-05-31.
  25. via Associated Press. "Joseph F. Finnegan, Ex-Director Of U.S. Mediation Service, Dies; Lawyer Held Federal Post From 1955 to 1961, Then Headed State Board". The New York Times. February 13, 1964. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
  26. Web site: Our Campaigns – Candidate – Dudley Field Malone . ourcampaigns.com.
  27. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000450 "Cornelius Augustine McGlennon"
  28. Goldaper, Sam (October 12, 1994). "Frank McGuire, 80, Basketball Coach, Dies", The New York Times. Retrieved November 29, 2017. "Francis Joseph McGuire, the 13th child of a New York City policeman, was born on Nov. 8, 1913, in Greenwich Village. He attended St. Francis Xavier High School, where he later taught history and coached for 11 seasons."
  29. Robert J. Reiley, AIA Architect Roster Questionnaire, 1946, 1953 Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  30. https://web.archive.org/web/20060821194545/http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=16194661 "Al Roker Biography”
  31. Santos, Fernanda (October 11, 2005)."Who's That Guy? Without Robes, Grand Marshal Is Mystery". The New York Times. Retrieved November 3, 2007. "Justice Scalia, 69, had marched at the parade once before, five decades ago as a student at Xavier High School in Chelsea."
  32. Web site: Our Campaigns – Candidate – Thomas F. Smith. ourcampaigns.com.
  33. O'Neill, Patrick. "Catholic Pacifist Pro-Life Activist Dies". . National Catholic Reporter. November 9, 2007. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
  34. Web site: Obituary: Robert F. Trehy. Centre Daily Times. November 24, 2009.
  35. Web site: James J. Walker. Encyclopaedia Britannica. March 29, 2018.
  36. Web site: Father Duffy Square Highlights : NYC Parks. nycgovparks.org.
  37. Web site: La Gorce, Tammy. The New York Times.
  38. Thomas Jr., Robert McG. "Leo Paquin, 83, One of Fordham's Blocks of Granite". The New York Times. December 3, 1993. Retrieved November 29, 2017. "Instead, he accepted a position at Xavier High School in Manhattan, where he spent more than 40 years as football coach, as athletic director, and as a Latin and English teacher who would annually startle his awed freshman classes by telling them that his parents and professors had been far less impressed by his football glory than by the fact that he made the dean's list for four years."
  39. Web site: New Kids. https://web.archive.org/web/20110629220731/http://www.mtv.com/videos/new-kids-on-the-block/230751/ill-be-loving-you-forever.jhtml#artist=1254 . dead . MTV. June 29, 2011.

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