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Elder High School
Principal Mr. Tom Otten
School type Private, all-male
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Location Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Mascot Panther
School newspaper The Purple Quill
School annual publication Elderado
School motto Altiora (Latin: "The Higher Things")
School colors Purple and white

Elder High School is a parochial high school in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.

History

The cornerstone was laid in 1922. Named for William Henry Elder, third bishop and Archbishop of Cincinnati, the school was the first Catholic Archdiocesan high school in the city. Eventually, twelve other such schools were constructed in the Greater Cincinnati area.

Eleven original parishes of the Western Hills neigborhood were the true founders of the school and served as "feeder parishes" for students. The first graduating class was in 1923, with eight students graduating in the year of the school's opening. Since its founding, nearly 20,000 students have graduated from the school.

Academics

The curriculum is accredited by the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Catholic School Accrediting Association. Several levels of curriculum are provided. The school has an Honors program which provides the top students Advanced Placement courses in Art, Calculus, Chemistry, Computer Science, English, U.S. History, and Physics.

A college prep program offers two levels to meet the needs of the largest percentage of students. A General Level program an opportunity for other students to learn at a more relaxed pace. Each year over 75% of the graduating students enroll in 4-year colleges and about 15% enroll in two-year colleges and technical schools.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni include:

Sports and Facilities

The high school is the home of "The Pit" (see//www.cincinnati.com/local/westside/E70html_05202003__GNWthepit_Other.html), the premier high school football stadium in the city. Construction began in the 1930s and was completed in December 1947.

The stadium seats 10,000, although it has held more on many occasions. In May, 1987 the "moving" Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall * was displayed at the stadium. The wall contains the names of 11 Elder High School graduates who died in the Vietnam War, the most of any Ohio high school. In 2001 The Pit was featured in USA Today (see //www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/football/2001-10-25-top10-stadiums-elder.htm) as one the Nations 10 great places to watch a high school game. In November 2004 Elder High School achieved a first of its kind: the broadcast of a varsity football game live on the Internet to more than 10,000 viewers across three continents (see //newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2004/prod_112404.html).

In the spring of 2005, The Motz Groupinstalled their 24/7[http://themotzgroup.com/products/247.asp synthetic turf in "The Pit". On June 4, 2005, the Elder varsity baseball team won their 12th OHSAA Division I State Championship, defeating Toledo Start 3-0. The school has won at least one state championship in every decade since the 1940's and the baseball team was ranked 8th in the nation in 2005..

In addition to Baseball, Elder High School has won multiple state championships in every major sport including; Football, Basketball, Cross Country, and Volleyball, and has been followed by their faithful known as the "Elder Nation" (see //www.cincinnati.com/preps/2002/12/01/wwwprep2doc1.html). The cross country team has won state championchips in 1973, 1982, 1986, 1988, and 1989 and looks at a promising future

Scandals of former staff members

Former staff members of Elder High School have had multiple accusations of sexual abuse against them including two former principals, Lawrence Strittmatter and Rev. Thomas Kuhn.

This lead to controversy because Archbishop Daniel Edward Pilarczyk of the Cincinnati Archdiocese did not suspend some of the priests directly on learning of accusations against them. Subsequently Archbishop Daniel Edward Pilarczyk has said "I apologize from the bottom of my heart to those who have been abused by Father Strittmatter." (Note: Lawrence Strittmatter has been laicized in a decision handed down January 20, 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI.)

The school was also at the heart of a sex-abuse scandal when Reverend David Kelley was accused of "inappropriate behavior with students" at the school and it was alleged by Konrad Kircher, a lawyer suing the local archdiocese, that the archbishop wrote a letter to a treatment center saying students reported Kelley "touched their genitals," but subsequently covered up this knowledge to protect the priest.

The scandals by former staff members at Elder High School and other related ones ended with the conviction of the archdiocese on five misdemeanor crimes for having "knowingly failed" to report information about the abuse, the first time that an archdiocese has been convicted in this way. Apart from Reverend David Kelley, none of the Elder High School staff members accused of abuse has been convicted, the charges and lawsuits against them having been dropped due to the statute of limitations.

The present school administration encourages any former students who may have been abused, or anyone who has knowledge of such abuse to report such abuse to law enforcement authorities and to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

References

External links

Sports in Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Ohio | Educational institutions established in 1922 | High schools in Ohio

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Elder High School".

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