Harman Patil (Editor)

Brooklyn Preparatory School

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Type
  
Private, all-male

Grades
  
9-12

Religious affiliation(s)
  
Roman Catholic

Color(s)
  
Blue and White

Opened
  
1908 (109 years ago) (1908)

Closed
  
1972 (45 years ago) (1972)

Brooklyn Preparatory School, known as Brooklyn Prep, was a highly selective Jesuit preparatory school founded by the Society of Jesus in 1908. The school educated generations of young men from throughout New York City and Long Island until its closure in 1972.

Contents

The Prep was located on 1150 Carroll Street in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. The grounds and buildings are presently part of Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York (CUNY). Located next to the Prep was the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, which was also run by the Jesuits and which was closed in 2011.

As a Jesuit institution, Brooklyn Prep was noted for its religious values, classical roots (e.g., Latin and Greek), and dress code (ties and jackets) – all part of its goal of turning out well-rounded, educated men. Most of its graduates matriculated to four-year colleges. It was part of a group of eight Jesuit secondary schools in New York and New Jersey (Regis, Xavier, Loyola, Fordham Prep, St. Peter's Prep, Canisius and McQuaid).

The 100th anniversary of the school was celebrated by alumni and former faculty in October 2008.

In 2003, New York Nativity began "Brooklyn Jesuit Prep", a co-educational middle school in the former St. Teresa's School at Sterling Place and Classon Avenue in Crown Heights, providing Jesuit-taught tuition-free education for 5th through 8th grades.

Alumni

Among Brooklyn Prep's notable alumni are:

  • Robert S. Bennett, 1957 – Washington, D.C. attorney
  • William Peter Blatty, 1945 – author of The Exorcist
  • Joseph Califano, 1948 – former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare
  • Bill Carter – (New York Times, television columnist and author of several books on television
  • William P. Ford, 1953 [deceased] – international civil rights attorney*
  • Jack Hofsiss, 1967 – director of The Elephant Man
  • Joseph M. McLaughlin, 1950 – Senior Appellate Judge, Second Circuit
  • John Sexton, 1959 – President of New York University
  • Raymond Siller, 1956 – television writer, political consultant
  • Joe Paterno, 1944 [deceased] – football coach at Penn State for 45 years
  • Robert J. Bartolini, 1962 – activist, Baltimore City Housing Director
  • Kenneth H. Brown, 1954 – playwright, poet, novelist; author of The Brig, many other plays, poems, novels, stories; resident playwright, Yale Drama School, 1966–1969
  • John Musto, 1972 – composer, concert pianist; 1997 Pulitzer Prize in Music finalist
  • Dr. George A. Sheehan, 1936 (deceased) – best-selling running and fitness expert

    • The Brooklyn Prep Alumni Association keeps the memory of the school alive by hosting an annual alumni dinner in New York City and by the maintenance of an Alumni Association Fund, which supports scholarships and educational causes.

    Faculty

    Noted faculty included:

  • Rev. Thomas V. Bermingham, SJ – classical scholar; professor at Georgetown University and Fordham University who worked on The Exorcist
  • Rev. Daniel Berrigan, SJ – peace activist; author and poet
  • John C. Lawn – varsity basketball coach, who became Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator, COO of the New York Yankees, and CEO of The Century Council
  • Rev. Anthony J. Paone, SJ – author of several religious books
  • Charles Winans – teacher whose life and influence on students was detailed in the privately published book titled Charlie's Prep

    • References

    Brooklyn Preparatory School Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA