St. Benedict's Preparatory School

St. Benedict's Preparatory School is a Catholic college preparatory school in Newark, New Jersey run by the Benedictine monks of Newark Abbey. The school serves boys and girls in kindergarten through twelfth grade on a 12-acre (4.9 ha) urban campus. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1990. As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 965 students and 74.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.9:1. The school's student body was 53.6% (517) Black, 35.4% (342) Hispanic, 4.7% (45) White, 3.8% (37) two or more races, 2.2% (21) Asian and 0.3% (3) American Indian / Alaska Native. History Established in 1868 by the Benedictine monks of Newark Abbey, the school is guided by the sixth century Rule of Saint Benedict. It has been located in the Archdiocese of Newark for more than 130 years. The school serves students from Newark and its neighboring communities; students come from 100 towns and approximately 215 schools. More than 60 are from 23 other countries. Starting in the 2017–18 school year, the former St. Mary School began operating within St. Benedict's. Classes for kindergarten through eighth grade are co-educational. The high school, known as the Prep Division, was previously all-boys before becoming co-institutional (i.e. boys and girls are admitted, but are segregated in classes) in the 2020-2021 school year, after Benedictine Academy in Elizabeth closed in the spring of 2020. The school was closed for the 1972–73 school year. Since its re-opening in 1973, the headmaster has been Fr. Edwin D. Leahy, O.S.B, who was graduated from St. Benedict's in 1963. Curriculum St. Benedict’s Preparatory School operates on an academic calendar distinct from most secondary schools. The year is divided into three instructional phases: Summer, Fall–Winter, and Spring. The Summer Phase consists of a five-week session held in August, during which students attend half-day classes. Spring phase ends the academic year. Students choose projects to work on for four weeks such as community service, U.S. history, gardening, dancing, music production, photography, journalism, finance, acting, physics, intense exercising, karate, and cooking. At the conclusion of the freshman year, students participate in the Backpacking Project, a five-day trek of approximately 50 miles (80 km) along the Appalachian Trail in western New Jersey. Freshmen are organized into teams and assume leadership and support roles. The program is preceded by several weeks of preparation and is intended to foster self-reliance, teamwork, and leadership. Transfer students are also required to participate. Extracurricular activities St. Benedict's has a music program and a visual arts program. The Benedict News student newspaper has won the Columbia Scholastic Press Association gold medal three times, in 2005, 2006, and again in 2008. The school literary magazine, The Kayrix, is published every year during spring phase. The 520 is a student-run maintenance corporation. The goal of the corporation is to cost-effectively support the maintenance needs of the school while enhancing the environment and providing students with the opportunity to develop skills and earn a competitive income. The corporation was established in 1998. Athletics The St. Benedict's Preparatory School Gray Bees, compete in 12 interscholastic sports: water polo, cross country running, soccer, swimming, fencing, wrestling, basketball, indoor track, crew, golf, baseball, and outdoor track. The school has produced several notable athletes including an Olympic gold medalist. School colors are garnet and gray. The cross country running team won the all-group state championship in 1921 and the Prep title in nine times from 1922 to 1931. The program's nine state group titles are tied for seventh-most in the state. The track team won the winter/indoor track Non-Public state championship in six times from 1922 to 1927 and seven times from 1931 to 1937. The 13 state group titles won by the program are ranked fourth in the state. The track team won the Non-Public Group A spring / outdoor track state championship in 1949. The wrestling team won the Non-Public Group B North state sectional championship in 1980 (as co-champion), 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1989 to 1991. The team won the Non-public Group B state title in 1987 and 1989 to 1991. The fencing team won the overall state championship in 1990. Basketball St. Benedict's basketball teamconsistently ranks as one of the top high-school basketball teams in the United States among USA Today High School Boys' Basketball Super 25. and is part of what The New York Times calls the "NBA pipeline". In 2013, the basketball team was ranked fifth in ESPN's top 25, losing to Montverde Academy in the ESPN Rise National Championship. Soccer The soccer team won the Non-Public Group B state championship in 1982 (against runner-up Mater Dei High School in the finals of the tournament), 1987 (vs. Mater Dei), 1989 (vs. Eustace Preparatory School) and 1990 (vs. St. Augustine Preparatory School). The 1982 team finished the season with an 18-3-1 record after coming back from a 2–0 deficit to win the Parochial B state title with a 3–2 win against Mater Dei in the championship game at Mercer County Park. The 2006 boys' soccer team finished the season with a 20–0 record, and was ranked first in the nation in the NSCAA/adidas National Rankings. A 4–1 win against the Pennington School in the 2011 Prep A championship gave St. Benedict's a perfect 24–0 season, its 23rd consecutive Prep A title and its number one spot as the top-ranked high school soccer team in the nation by ESPN/Rise. St. Benedict's have been recognized as national champion in 1990, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024, and 2025. Winning in total of 16 National Championships and 37 State titles. They are widely considered the most dominant high school soccer program in the country. Numerous alumni of the soccer program have become world-renowned players. Awards and recognition Publicity The history of the school is related in Thomas A. McCabe's Miracle on High Street (New York: Fordham University Press, 2010). On March 20, 2016, the school was featured in a segment of 60 Minutes called "The Resurrection of St. Benedict's". In June 2021, an article in The New York Times documented students participating in a half-century-old school tradition in which freshmen are required to complete a 50-mile (80 km) hike along the Delaware Water Gap section of the Appalachian Trail. Documentary A documentary about Newark Abbey and Saint Benedict's Prep, The Rule (2014), by filmmakers Marylou and Jerome Bongiorno, was released theatrically, broadcast nationally on PBS, and was screened by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans at the U.S. Department of Education. The film premiered at the 2014 Montclair Film Festival. Notable alumni Notable staff Ernest Blood (1872–1955), basketball coach who led St. Benedict's Prep to a 421–128 record and five state championships from 1925 to 1950 Dan Hurley (2001–2010), basketball coach and former player and member of famed Hurley family, who led the Gray Bees to a 223-21 overall record while head coach and became the fastest coach in New Jersey basketball history to reach the 200-win mark References External links School Website Data for St. Benedict's Preparatory School, National Center for Education Statistics