Father Tolton Regional Catholic High School

Father Augustine Tolton Regional Catholic High School is the first private, Roman Catholic high school in Columbia, Missouri, built in 2010. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City. The school is named after Missouri native Augustine Tolton, the first self-identified black Catholic priest in the United States.^[5] The school's enrollment for the 2017-18 school year was 285 students.

History^[6]

Talk of opening a Catholic high school in Columbia had become a serious conversation by the time Bishop John R. Gaydos arrived in the Diocese Jefferson City in 1997. In a 2001 statement of his vision for the local Church, he called for “a study of how to expand the possibilities for Catholic secondary education in the diocese.” Feasibility studies indicated strong support among Catholic parishioners in Columbia and surrounding communities for opening a Catholic high school.

Local parishioners wanted the new high school to be built on a foundation of Catholic spirituality, college-prep academics, and leadership-development opportunities for students. They helped their parishes pay down construction debts, which allowed fund-raising for the new school to begin in earnest. The Diocese of Jefferson City provided $1.5 million in seed money through the “Grateful Memories … Faithful Future” capital campaign in 2006 and Bishop John Gaydos authorized the purchase of 23 acres of real estate.

A fund drive to raise an additional $5 million in pledges in 2009 allowed the executive committee to secure financing for the rest of the school’s cost. Bishop Gaydos authorized initial site work and excavation for the school to begin in April of that year. The first classes started in August 2011 and the building opened in November 2011. Additional funds are being raised with the hope of keeping tuition affordable for as many children as possible.

Father Tolton biographical summary

Father Augustine Tolton was functionally illiterate at the age of 14. Despite this adversity as a young boy he became fluent in German having attended mass in that language regularly. His primary and secondary education was completed with the help of priests and brothers as he was also not welcome in regular schools because of his race. After being denied admission to seminaries within the United States he was admitted to the College of the Sacred Propaganda at Rome. His time in Rome was a time of rigorous study during which he also became fluent in Latin and Italian. After completing his studies his goal was to travel to Africa to preach to the less fortunate. Instead he was transferred back to his home where he chose to live with his mother. There, despite facing many barriers, he was an engaging preacher. He died at the age of 43, some say from heat stroke as his health already suffered from excessive work.

Campus

Tolton High School is located on the south side of Columbia off of U.S. Route 63 on East Gans Road. The campus sits adjacent to A.Perry Philips Park, an outdoor recreation area and lake.

Athletics

Tolton is a member of the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) which governs the athletics of most schools within Missouri.^[7] The school's teams are designated the "Trailblazers." Sponsored sports include baseball, basketball (boys and girls), cheerleading, cross country (boys and girls), dance, football, soccer (boys and girls), softball, tennis (boys and girls), track (boys and girls), volleyball, and wrestling.

Team State Championships

Boys Basketball: 2016

Cheerleading: 2015

Dance: 2017

Girls Track: 2015, 2016

Individual State Champions:

Boys Golf: Jack Parker (2014, 2016, 2017)

Wrestling: Jaydin Clayton (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 ), Will Tindal (2014, 2015), Brock Mauller (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018), Jarrett Jacques (2017, 2018), Teague Travis (2018)

Girls Track: Bayli Freidel - Pole Vault (2015, 2016, 2017), Davis Atkins - 800m (2015, 2016), Rachel Selva - 1600m and 3200 m (2015)

Notes and references

External links

• Official website