Cathedral Preparatory School

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Cathedral Preparatory School
Address
225 West 9th Street Erie , Pennsylvania 16501 United States
Coordinates	42°7′27″N 80°5′17″W / 42.12417°N 80.08806°W / 42.12417; -80.08806
Information
School type	Independent college-preparatory high school
Motto	"Developing men and women of vision in spirit, mind, and body"
Religious affiliation(s)	Christianity
Denomination	Roman Catholic[1]
Established	1921 (1921)
Founder	John Mark Gannon
Sister school	Villa Maria Academy
Oversight	Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie
CEEB code	391275
NCES School ID	01190189[1]
President	Kevin Smith
Faculty	35.4 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades	9–12
Gender	Co-ed education[1]
Enrollment	469[1] (2019-2020)
• Grade 9	116[1]
• Grade 10	108[1]
• Grade 11	120[1]
• Grade 12	125[1]
Student to teacher ratio	1:13.2
Hours in school day	7.1
Campus type	Small city
Color(s)	Orange and Black
Song	Loyal and True
Athletics conference	PIAA
Mascot	Rambler
Nickname	Ramblers
Accreditation	MSA[2]
Publication	Literulae
Newspaper	The Rambler
Website	prep-villa.com

Cathedral Preparatory School (often referred to simply as Prep) is a private, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory high school for girls and boys in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. It was established in 1921 by Archbishop John Mark Gannon and is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie.

On Friday, August 12, 1921, Bishop John Mark Gannon summoned the pastors of Erie's twelve parishes to meet to discuss the "lack of Catholic education for high school boys in the city." "Many Catholics," he claimed, "although highly intelligent and deserving, were denied the chance to receive a preparatory education because they were poor." His goal was to establish a school that "provided the moral, intellectual, social, and physical training designed to prepare (men) to live in our democratic society..." thus, the Cathedral Preparatory School for Boys was established in the fall of 1921. The new school's location was in the hastily remodeled basement of St. Peter's Cathedral. The faculty consisted of four priests and one layperson. Tuition was $50 and paid for by the students' parishes. In 1925, the first graduating class of 43 men became alums. In 1929, Bill Ring of the Erie Dispatch-Herald began referring to the Cathedral team as the "Ramblers." Mr. Ring's inspiration was the University of Notre Dame's 1920's nickname.^[3]

The school renovated the halls and classrooms of all four floors in its main building. The project, which included the installation of new windows, ceilings, walls, lockers, lighting fixtures, carpeting, and technology infrastructure, has a projected completion cost of three million dollars. It recently completed a $1 million renovation to the science wing and auditorium.^[4] On September 10, 2010, it officially opened the Cathedral Prep Events Center (now known as the Hagerty Family Events Center ^[5]), a new athletic complex for football, basketball, swimming, water polo, soccer, lacrosse, and track and field. A 1,800 seat gymnasium and a 400-seat natatorium complete with an Olympic-sized pool, a new wrestling room, and a weight room were recently completed on the corner of 12th and Cherry Streets for a cost of over $10 million.^[6]

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Students must take courses in English, history, mathematics, religion, foreign languages, and science and are also required to complete 100 hours of community service. Additionally, every student must take the SAT to graduate. Cathedral Prep bases acceptance to the first-year class on the results of the mandatory entrance exam, elementary school transcripts, school disciplinary records, and recommendations from the elementary school teachers and principal. In 2019, 127 students graduated from Cathedral Preparatory School, and 100% of the graduating class was accepted into a four-year college.^[7]

The school is a member of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) in PIAA District 10. Prep offers 13 varsity sports as well as many JV and freshman sports. On September 10, 2010, it officially opened the Cathedral Prep Events Center, a new athletic complex for football. Each year its basketball team hosts the Burger King Classic.

The school's student cheering section, particularly at football and basketball games, is widely known.^[8][9]

• Official website