St. Mary Catholic Central High School

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (July 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

St. Mary Catholic Central High School
Address
108 West Elm Avenue Monroe , Michigan 48162 United States
Information
Former names	St. Mary Academy (all girls) Monroe Catholic Central (all boys)
Type	Private
Motto	Living Faith, Gaining Knowledge, Serving Others
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Patron saint(s)	St. Mary
Established	1846; 176 years ago (1846)
Founder	Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Brothers of Holy Cross
President	Sean D. Jorgensen '91, P '18, '22
Principal	Jason A. Linster
Dean of Students/Athletic Director	Chad S. Myers '02
Campus Minister	Timothy A. Maag
Grades	9–12
Gender	Coeducational
Enrollment	351 (2021–2022)
Student to teacher ratio	13:1
Color(s)	Green and gold
Athletics conference	Huron League
Nickname	Falcons (boys) Kestrels (girls)
Accreditation	North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[1]
Yearbook	The Epoch
Feeder schools	Monroe Catholic Elementary School, St. Charles Newport, St. Patrick Carleton, St. Stephen New Boston, St. Joseph Erie
Website	www.smccmonroe.com
St. Mary Catholic Central
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Location within the state of Michigan St. Mary Catholic Central High School (the United States) Show map of MichiganShow map of the United StatesShow all
Location	108 West Elm Avenue Monroe, Michigan
Coordinates	41°55′10″N 83°23′50″W / 41.91944°N 83.39722°W / 41.91944; -83.39722Coordinates: 41°55′10″N 83°23′50″W / 41.91944°N 83.39722°W / 41.91944; -83.39722
Built	1846
Part of	St. Mary's Church Complex Historic District (ID82002855)

St. Mary Catholic Central High School, known colloquially as SMCC, is a Catholic, co-educational, parochial, secondary school located at 108 West Elm Avenue in Monroe, Michigan. SMCC is sponsored by the Catholic parishes of the Vicariate of Monroe under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit. The school itself is listed as a contributing property within the St. Mary's Church Complex Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1982.^[2]

About SMCC[]

St. Mary Catholic Central High School is a heritage school formed from the 1986 merger of St. Mary Academy and Monroe Catholic Central. SMCC continues the church's educational tradition in Monroe that began when the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary founded St. Mary Academy in 1846. The Brothers of Holy Cross came to Monroe in 1944 to staff Monroe Catholic Central, a new all-boys Catholic secondary school established by the Archdiocese and several local parishes.

Today, SMCC is considered a Vicariate-sponsored high school. The Vicariate of Monroe, which is contiguous with Monroe County borders, has fourteen parishes and five Catholic elementary schools. SMCC has students representing all fourteen parishes. The school is the only Catholic secondary institution in the Vicariate. Further, it is one of only two non-public high schools in Monroe County.

Among the current student body, 68% come from a Catholic elementary school in the Monroe Vicariate or from surrounding Catholic parishes in Huron Township, Downriver Detroit, or Toledo. The remaining 32% comes from local public middle schools, one of three area local Lutheran elementary schools, a public charter school, the local Montessori school, or home-schooled settings.

Founding[]

The name St. Mary Catholic Central comes from the two schools that formed it: St. Mary Academy (SMA) and Monroe Catholic Central High School (MCC). The merger of the two schools took place in 1986. St. Mary Academy was an all-girls school run by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, located at 610 West Elm Avenue in Monroe, Michigan. The academy was founded in 1846. Monroe Catholic Central was an all-boys school run by the Brothers of the Holy Cross, located in the building which now houses St. Mary Catholic Central at 108 West Elm Avenue in Monroe, Michigan. In June 1985, Sr. Joyce Durosko, IHM was hired as the Chief Executive Officer by the schools to implement a completed integration plan. Cardinal Edmund Szoka ratified the final merger and the by-laws were drafted by a joint board in 1986.

The merger between the schools began during the 1986–1987 school year when male and female students began taking classes together in both buildings, which are approximately five blocks apart. During previous years, students were only able to take classes at the other school if a course was not offered at their school. In the inaugural school year of SMCC (1986–1987), the St. Mary Academy building was named “St. Mary Catholic Central West Campus” and the building of Monroe Catholic Central was labeled as “St. Mary Catholic Central East Campus.” The two-campus High School lasted for only one school year. In the 1987–1988 school year, the building of St. Mary Academy was no longer used, with all classes held at the east campus of SMCC which was Monroe Catholic Central

Through the end of the 1987–1988 academic year, athletic teams continued to compete under the names of Monroe Catholic Central and St. Mary Academy, with the St. Mary Academy teams wearing the colors of blue and white. By the 1988–1989 academic year, all teams were referred to as St. Mary Catholic Central, wearing the colors of green and gold which had previously been used by Monroe Catholic Central. The boys' teams continue to use the nickname Falcons and the girls' teams use the nickname Kestrels, as they had prior to the merger.

Academics[]

SMCC is fully accredited through Cognia. The school offers students a college preparatory program with three levels of learning, including Honors/AP, College Prep, and Concepts levels.

100% of SMCC students are accepted into colleges each year. The Class of 2021 earned over $9 million in college scholarship offers with 87% of graduates earning some college scholarship support.

All students have iPads. SMCC became one of the first schools in the nation^[3] to fully implement the use of digital textbooks in place of traditional hardcover or softcover texts.

The school has 24 faculty members, four administrators, six full and part-time student service staff members, and 10 full and part-time support staff.

Athletics[]

SMCC offers athletic opportunities in 23 sports programs. Male and female athletes compete as members of 35 teams on the varsity, junior varsity, and freshman level. More than 85% of the current student body will earn at least one varsity letter while attending SMCC. SMCC teams are part of the Michigan High School Athletic Association, and the Huron League. Sports which are currently offered for boys include baseball, basketball, bowling, golf, soccer, tennis, track, cross country, football, ice hockey, wrestling, and lacrosse. Girls sports include basketball, bowling, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track, cross country, softball, and volleyball.

SMCC has claimed 17 state championships and has finished as state runner up on 12 other occasions. The state championships include seven titles in Girls Volleyball, winning titles in 2003, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2019, and 2020 as well as state runner-up performances in 1991, 2011, and 2015. ^[4] The Football program owns four state championships, winning the title in 1969 as Monroe Catholic Central and in 1991, 2014, and 2019 as SMCC, while also having four state runner-up performances in 1984, 2005, 2009, and 2010.^[5] The Monroe Catholic Central Wrestling team won a pair of Class B state championships in 1982 and 1983, and finished as the state runner-up in 1985.^[6] The Softball program finished as state champions in 2015, 2016, and 2017 and state runner-up three times, 1989, 1992, and 2007.^[7] The Girls Track and Field squad claimed a state championship in 2003.^[8]

Notable alumni[]

• Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson, Miss America 1988
• Paul W. Smith, Radio personality, morning drive-time host at 760am WJR radio since 1996
• Don Gonyea, National Public Radio Washington D.C. correspondent
• Jilleanne Rookard, former US Olympic Speed Skater
• Randy Richardville, former Michigan State Senate Majority Leader
• Bill LaVoy, former Michigan State Representative
• Joseph Bellino, Jr., Michigan State Representative

References[]

External links[]

• Official School website