Roman Catholic High School

Roman Catholic High School is an all-boys high school located at the intersection of Broad and Vine Streets in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Roman, as it is called, was founded in 1890, by Thomas E. Cahill, who wanted to create a school that offered a free Catholic education. As such, Roman Catholic is the oldest free Diocesan Catholic high school in North America.

Related Topics:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - 1890 - Catholic education

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Free admission to the school ended a long time ago; as of 2005 the tutition was about $3500 per year. Its students usually come from middle and working class families all across the Philadelphia region. However, before the 1980s, students were not allowed to choose their high school in Philadelphia, like they do today. Catholic high schools would draw from specific "feeder parishes"; Roman served as the school for the boys from the Roxborough and Manayunk regions of Philadelphia. Today, however, Roman caters to boys from the Northeast, West Philly, Fairmount, South Philly, New Jersey, and the outlying suburbs.

Related Topics:
$ - 1980s - Roxborough - Manayunk

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Roman Catholic is the smallest Philadelphia archdiocesan high school. It is built to hold around 750 to 800 students. However, because of high demand, it is above capacity and holds closer to 900. Roman has been trying to expand farther and farther down the street so it can become larger. To select its students, Roman holds a test every October and November. Of the 600 or 700 students that apply, only about 300 to 350 will be accepted. Students who do well on these tests also receive scholarships ranging from a few hundred dollars to as much as $2800 a year. Usually, about 40 students receive scholarships.

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Roman students are fairly diverse. The school is about 70 percent white, about 15 percent African-American, and 15 percent other. A rare find among usual teenagers is political conversatives; however, at Roman, both liberals and conservatives can be found. The two factions have been known to square off in debates during class.

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Roman, like other high schools, has a tracking system. That is, first track (also called honors track), second track, and third track. Roman, however, is unique in that it tracks its honors class into three classes. These have been dubbed by the students as "Smart Honors," "Regular Honors," and "Fake Honors" or "Fonors." While students in the honors classes learn the same material at the same pace, it creates a better learning system to have students of the same level together. A downside to such a tracking is that students find themselves among the same 35 boys in every single class.

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Roman was not always as successful as it is today. In the 1980s, the archdiocese wanted to close it because of lowering enrollment. However, Roman's alumni association, which has existed for over 100 years, came together, and raised funds to keep the school intact. The rector of the school also applied to have the building itself kept as a historic landmark, and it was accepted. As such, the Roman Catholic building can never legally be torn down, its exterior must always stay the same - though it does not have to remain a school.

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Roman is noted for its colorful faculty. Any alumnus of Roman will smile at the mere mention of such names as "Mr. Ferrero," "Doc Yarborough," "Dr. Mecherly," "Mr. Corrigan," and "Mr. Gallagher." Among the faculty, there is John Pensabene. John has taught English and Latin at Roman for over ten years, and strives to make the school the best that it can be. Though he went to a rival school for his own education, he has made Roman his own and has been a focal point in every one of its advancements.

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Roman shares a great history in sports. Roman has dominated Catholic League basketball since the League's inception. Almost a dozen NBA players have played for Roman. Recently, Roman has been doing well in sports, but has not secured a championship. Roman football, despite not being as successful as basketball, has always been a favorite by the students and alumni. The current coach, Jim Murphy, works his "men" hard on the practice field, leads them to victory on the gridiron, and then teaches them how to be good Christians the next morning in theology class. Roman Catholic's largest team is the Cross Country team, led by the enigmatic Kevin Verbrugghe, Class of 1980. Coach Kevin, as he is called, took over the worst team in the Catholic league 5 years ago, and has transformed it into one of the very best. Though the Cross Country team has not yet won a title under the tutelage of Coach Kevin, he is one of the most respected coaches in the Catholic League, known for keeping his very large team (over 60 boys, unheard of for Cross Country) in great shape via their intense workouts.

Related Topics:
Basketball - Football - Cross Country

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Roman Catholic is home to one of the most succesful Crew (rowing) teams in North America. Though unsung among the students and faculty, the team works hard over 10 months a year to win its championships. Roman is the only Catholic high school in Philadelphia that sculls (uses two oars a man while rowing) rather than sweeps (uses one oar a man while rowing). Because of this, Roman's major rivals are suburban Prep schools, including Haverford School and Malvern Prep. In 2003, two Roman students represented the United States at the Junior World Championships in Athens, Greece.

Related Topics:
Crew - Malvern Prep - Athens, Greece

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Roman Catholic boasts some famous alumni, including Charles Fuller, who won the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for "A Soldier's Play," a story about racism in the military that was later turned into a successful movie starring Denzel Washington. However, Roman's most famous alumni is likely Marvin Harrison, the wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts. Harrison graduated in 1991 from Roman, after being a local sports star in both football and basketball. He led the Roman team to one of its most impressive title victories during the 1990-1991 season. Harrison visits Roman at least once a year, and especially comes to visit his favorite teacher, the quirky Mr. Ferrero, who tutored Harrison on the SATs so that he could attend Syracuse University.

Related Topics:
Denzel Washington - Marvin Harrison - Indianapolis Colts - 1991 - SAT - Syracuse University

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Today, Roman seeks to further its expand its campus. Currently the school is seeking to expand down to 13th Street. Not seeking to add enrollment, it just wants to make it comfortable for its students. Overcrowdedness in the hallways is a problem. The Class of 2005 is sending ten students to the nearby University of Pennsylvania, an impressive number for a Catholic School. One of Roman's noteworthy feats is sending two students to Military Academies in back to back years. A class of 2004 student briefly attended West Point before going to the University of Pennsylvania, and a student in the class of 2005 currently attends the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis.

Related Topics:
2005 - University of Pennsylvania - West Point - United States Naval Academy

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