Charlotte Catholic High School

Charlotte Catholic High School
Address
7702 Pineville Matthews Road
Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina 28226
United States
Coordinates 35°5′18″N 80°51′0″W / 35.08833°N 80.85000°W / 35.08833; -80.85000Coordinates: 35°5′18″N 80°51′0″W / 35.08833°N 80.85000°W / 35.08833; -80.85000
Information
Type Private, Coeducational, University-Preparatory School
Motto Lux et Veritas
(Light and Truth)
Religious affiliation(s) Catholic
Established 1955
School board MACS
Superintendent Dr. Janice T. Ritter
Dean Randy Belk
Principal Kurt Telford
Chaplain Fr. Jason Barone
Grades 9–12
Gender Co-educational
Age range 14-18
Education system MACS(Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools)
Language English
Hours in school day 7 hours
Campus type Urban
Color(s) Columbia Blue, White and Red (Sometimes Black)             
Slogan "The soul of education is the education of the soul" (Pope Pius XI)
Athletics conference NCHSAA Division 3A
Mascot Cougar
Nickname Catholic
Team name Cougars
Rival Charlotte Country Day School, South Mecklenburg High School (Conference Rivals)
Accreditation Southern Association of Colleges and Schools[1]
Newspaper The Chronicle
Yearbook Signet II
Tuition Tuition for Non-Participating Catholics & Non-Catholics $13,348 - Discounted Tuition for Participating Catholics $9,366
Stadium Keffer Stadium (Jim Oddo Field)
Website www.charlottecatholic.org

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.[2]

Athletics

The Cook (Oddo) Cup is an annual football game between Charlotte Catholic and Charlotte Country Day School (CCDS), with the football fields alternating schools each year. The cup is named after the legendary Country Day Coach Cook.

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, respectively, over the past 30 years.

The women's swim team has won fourteen consecutive state championships (2001–2014), with the men's team winning their first championship in 2005. 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.[3]

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, formerly directed by Dottie Tippett. 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 placing first place for 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 a competition 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. As of 2017, due to alleged low participation and interest, the band has temporarily ceased performing drilled halftime shows and attending competitions.

In 2017, long time choral director, Dottie Tippett, retired. A farewell concert was performed May 15th, in which many alumni sent their congratulations and thanks, some even singing her “Teach Your Children” by Crosby Stills and Nash.

Controversy

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.

[4]

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.[5]

Sister Jane Dominic Speech

On March 21, 2014, Charlotte Catholic welcomed Sister Jane Dominic Laurel, a Dominican Nun trained at the Pontifical University, to give a speech on Catholic beliefs on gender roles. During the speech, Sister Jane Dominic suggested that masturbation and pornography can lead young adults to become homosexuals and that children raised in single parent homes have a greater likelihood to grow up to be gay. Students and parents were not told ahead of time of the content of her speech. An online petition written by Charlotte Catholic alumni Emma Winters(c/o 2014) against the content of her speech garnered 2000 signatures and a letter-writing campaign to the Dioceses of Charlotte and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was initiated. Shortly thereafter, a counter petition was written by Charlotte Catholic alumni Jack Denton(c/o 2017) which defended the dignity of Sister Jane Dominic Laurel since it had come under attack after her lecture. It garnered over 2500 signatures. A parents meeting held by the high school later in the week to discuss the speech attracted nearly a thousand people and the meeting went over an hour longer than scheduled due to the number of parents who wished to ask questions or make comments.[6] The speech and fallout received national media attention.[7] The Dioceses of Charlotte and Bishop Peter Jugis continued to support the teachings of Sister Jane Dominic and she was vigorously supported by Catholic media. In early April, Sister Jane Dominic cancelled all of her scheduled speaking events and took a sabbatical from her teaching position at Aquinas College.[8] The President of Aquinas College stated that in her speech Sister Jane Dominic “spoke clearly on matters of faith and morals” but “her deviation into realms of sociology and anthropology was beyond the scope of her expertise.”

Vaping

On November 17, 2017, Charlotte Catholic announced that disciplinary measures would include the prohibition of vaping devices and letters were sent home on this issue. The use of such devices has led to the expulsion of a "handful" of students.[9]


Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ↑ SACS-CASI. "SACS-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  2. ↑ "Charlotte Catholic High School". SchoolDigger. Retrieved 2017-02-20.
  3. ↑ Charlotte catholic rugby grabs national stature. (2010, June 16). Retrieved from http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/06/16/1493573/charlotte-catholic-rugby-grabs.html
  4. ↑ Charlotte Observer http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article72618157.html
  5. ↑ Charlotte Observer http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/education/article125835989.html
  6. ↑ Charlotte Observer http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article9109553.html
  7. ↑ USA Today https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/03/catholic-nun-homosexuality-speech/7250825/
  8. ↑ Charlotte Observer http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/article9110582.html
  9. ↑ Daley, Ashley. "Charlotte Catholic HS sees increase in vaping on campus" – via wcnc.com.
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