Religious affiliation(s) Catholic Founder The Diocese of Raleigh Phone +1 704-543-1127 National ranking 78 | Established 1955 School board MACS | |
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Motto Lux et Veritas(Light and Truth) Sports American football, Rugby football, Football, Basketball | ||
Charlotte Catholic is a diocesan high school in Charlotte, North Carolina founded in 1955. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It is located in the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. Charlotte Catholic has a student to teacher ratio of 15.4.
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Athletics
The Cook (Oddo) Cup is an annual cup between Charlotte Catholic and Charlotte Country Day School (CCDS) held every school year. It is currently the 57th annual game (2017), the score is 29 -27 Charlotte Catholic. The cup named after legendary Country Day coach, coach Cook. Oddo was made a Charlotte Catholic title for the game in 2014 when CCHS coach Oddo resigned.
The school's mascot is the cougar. Charlotte Catholic's school colors are red, white and Columbia blue and occasionally black for special sports games. CCHS has 31 teams competing in 14 different sports as members of the Southern Meck 8 Conference. It had previously been in the 2A conference until 2006 and 3A until 2013. Charlotte Catholic is one of only three non-public school members of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. Notable coaches include Jim Oddo, Kenneth Hazen, and Shawn Panther, each boasting long, fruitful careers leading the football team, tennis teams, and men's golf team to many victories and state championships over the past 30 years. Shawn Panther is most notable for his work in Student Council and the Men's Golf Team.
The women's swim team has won fourteen consecutive state championships (2001–2014) and the men's team won their first championship in 2005. Charlotte Catholic's women's swim team is regarded as one of the most dominant and best high school sports teams in the country. The Men won the 2008 state title as well. In 2006, the school was advanced to the 3A division and the school won both the men's and women's state swimming championships (2006). In 2005, the Cougars won the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) Division 3AA Football State Championship, after winning the 2AA Title in 2004. Catholic had a 32-0 record from 2004 to 2005 in football. The Cougars also won the 2A Football State Championship in 1977. They also won the Division II 2A Football State Championships in 1981 and 1984. The girls tennis team has won recent state championships with the last coming in 2012. The football team also won the 2015 4A State Championship with an undefeated record of 15-0.
In 2004–2005 the following teams qualified for the state playoffs: Men's and Women's Track, Volleyball, Football, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, Men's and Women's Soccer, Men’s and Women’s Swimming, Men's Golf, and Lacrosse. Also in the 2004–2005 school year, there were 14 conference champions, 12 state team champion and three state individual champions. The successes of the athletic program led to the seventh consecutive year that CCHS was awarded the Wachovia Cup for overall athletic excellence. In 2005, Catholic also joined the Queen City 3A-4A Conference as a 3A team. In 2013, Charlotte Catholic High School moved to 4A as a member of the SoMeck 8 Conference.
In the school year of 2013-2014, Charlotte Catholic was moved up to 4A and joined a new conference. In 2017-2018, Charlotte Catholic will be reclassified down to a 3AA conference.
On May 15, 2010, the Charlotte Catholic Women's Lacrosse team became the first North Carolina Women's Lacrosse state champions in history.
Charlotte Catholic's Rugby team in 2010 had a "perfect regular season and won all three of its matches at USA Rugby South High School Championships advancing to the National championships". In 2011 Charlotte Catholic again competed in the National Championships finishing in 4th place. This year, Charlotte Catholic will again be traveling to South Bend, Indiana for another chance at the National Title. The rugby team has won seven straight state championships.
The 2008 and 2009 Men's Lacrosse won state championships and had a perfect season in 2008.
During the 2015-2016 school year Charlotte Catholic won both the football and basketball 4A State Championships.
Fine arts
The school puts on two major theatrical productions per year: a fall drama and a spring musical produced by the drama department and directed by Marcus "the Spider" Riter. The shows are produced on the stage within the gymnasium. There are also 2 major productions done per year by the chorus and honors chorus directed by Dottie Tippet. The final production usually has a set of songs done by the graduating seniors of both classes.
The Marching and Symphonic Bands are both led by Timmy W. Cook, assisted by Catherine Swiney, who also directs the percussion. The bands have placed in and won many competitions over the past several years, including first place in their division in the 2009 Providence Cup marching band competition under the direction of Mr. Ken Rudd. They also won 1st place Marching, 1st place Concert Band, and 1st place Grand Champion in Orlando's Universal Studios. This event marked the first time in Charlotte Catholic's history for the band to receive Superior in grade 6 music. Previous marching band shows include The Blueprint and An American Tribute which was written for the first annual Patriotism Bowl. In 2013 the Marching Band performed Pay it Forward. Past Band Directors include Ken Rudd, Joshua Potter, and Ryan "The Great" Tinker. For Cook's first year in charge, 2014, the Charlotte Catholic Marching Band performed "A Day in Dublin" with music from the piece "Irish" by Tim Hinton, in preparation for their quad-annual trip to Ireland. In Ireland, the band performed in the Limerick Marching Showcase, winning Best International Band, and in the Dublin St. Patrick's Day Parade, where the band won Best Overall Band. In 2015, the Marching Band swept first-place awards in Class A with an overall score of 80.79 at the Cuthbertson Showcase of Bands, the first such awards won since 2009. The Band performed Frank Sullivan's "Red Riding Hood" for the 2015-2016 school year. In 2016, the band marched a show entitled "Arabian Nights," which was a smaller program. On Thanksgiving Day, 2016 the band participated in the McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Chicago, IL.
The school also has a student-lead announcements team. Headed by Uwa Akhere, Alex Tarbet, and (formerly) Paul Gennett, the team was known for its obnoxious music and jokes before the 2017 crackdown which resulted in Gennett parting ways with the group.
Principal Healy
In 2014, Jerry Healy, Charlotte Catholic's principal, resigned amidst speculation that he had been embezzling money from a fund set up to aid lower-income families in sending their children to the school. In 2015 Healy pleaded guilty to stealing more than $160,000 from the school as well as the foundation over a seven-year period. While prosecutors suggested probation with no action to take him into custody, in April 2016 U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney Jr. sentenced Healy to three months in a halfway house. Until this point, Healy was a well-known and well-liked member of the Catholic school system community, having served as principal at Charlotte Catholic for over a decade and working closely with the diocese for 44 years.
Lonnie Billard Lawsuit
On January 11, 2017, Lonnie Billard took action to sue Charlotte Catholic High School on an account of discrimination. Billard claims he lost his teaching job at Catholic due to him announcing wedding plans for a long time male partner. The Federal Lawsuit accuses CCHS, Meckenburg Area Catholic Schools, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte of illegal discrimination of him due to his sexual preference. Billard was previously a teacher of the year recipient in 2012, when fully employed by Catholic, until his resign the same year. On October 25, 2014, which just weeks before North Carolina's same-sex marriage law was eliminated, Billard posted his wedding announcement on Facebook. The lawsuit states that on Christmas Day he was fired as a sub at CCHS. On January 9, 2015, Billard informed Charlotte Media of his termination from Catholic. Multiple legal directors agreed that even though a Religious affiliated school it does not have any right to refuse the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The complaint, filled by the state's office of the American Civil Liberties Union, declares back pay, benefits, punitive damage, compensatory damages for emotional distress, a court order blocking the school and Catholic leaders from taking similar actions in the future, and his substitute teacher job back. The diocese refused to release a statement to the media concerning the events, as the case is still pending.