Benet Academy
Encyclopedia
Benet Academy is a co-educational, college-preparatory, Benedictine
high school in Lisle
, Illinois, United States, overseen by the Diocese of Joliet. Founded in 1887, the school was initially established in Chicago
as the all-boys St. Procopius College and Academy by Benedictine monks, who also operated the St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage. In 1898, the orphanage moved to Lisle, about 25 miles (40.2 km) west of Chicago, to be joined by St. Procopius three years later. In 1926 Benedictine nuns constructed the all-girls Sacred Heart Academy near the orphanage and school in Lisle. The orphanage closed in 1956 to make room for St. Procopius Academy, which separated from the college in 1957. Due to rising costs and waning enrollment, Sacred Heart merged with St. Procopius Academy in 1967 to form Benet Academy on the St. Procopius campus. Since then, numerous building projects have been undertaken to expand Benet's athletics, music, and science programs.
Admission is competitive and relies primarily on test scores. All students complete a college-preparatory curriculum and may earn college credit through programs including Advanced Placement. As of 2009, Benet's average ACT test score regularly exceeds state and national averages, and more than 99 percent of students go on to college after graduation. The school's academic program has been featured in reports by the Chicago Sun-Times
and U.S. News & World Report
.
The athletic program has fielded several teams that have placed fourth or higher in state tournaments. The boys' basketball team has broken two state records, including a 102 home-game winning streak. Other activities include the annual Christmas Drive fundraiser and over 30 clubs and organizations, including the Math Team and Science Olympiad
team, both of which have won awards in their state tournaments. Benet's performing arts program stages an annual musical. The band program performed in state-wide events in 1998 and 2002. Notable alumni of the school include former Illinois Attorney General
Jim Ryan
and Grammy-winning singer Dave Bickler
.
, Chicago's working-class Pilsen neighborhood
, a predominantly Czech enclave, expanded quickly. To serve this growing ethnic population, St. Procopius parish
was founded in the summer of 1875, near the intersection of 18th and Allport Streets. The parish was named for Saint Procopius of Sázava, who founded a monastery
in Bohemia
in the eleventh century and became the first saint
from Czechoslovakia
. Vilém Čoka served as the first pastor
. Planning to build a school, Čoka left it to the community to decide if the school would be secular or Catholic. They chose a Catholic school, despite the fact that only 25 percent of Pilsen's Czech population was Catholic. As the parish outgrew his capacity to serve them, Čoka turned for help to the Order of St. Benedict.
Rev. John Nepomucene Jaeger, the first Bohemian abbot
in the United States, was urged to establish a monastic
community to teach at parochial school
s in Bohemian as well as English. He founded St. Procopius priory in 1885. The priory took control of St. Procopius parish in January 1886, and Jaeger became the pastor. Jaeger also founded a convent
in 1895, consisting of nun
s brought from St. Mary's Convent in Pittsburgh and headed by Jaeger's biological sister, Mother Mary Nepomucene Jaeger. The Czech-American media had pushed for a convent to prepare Czech-speaking nuns for teaching positions in Czech parochial schools, which had previously hired mostly lay teachers trained in Austrian normal school
s. The nuns were transferred from Pittsburgh to St. Scholastica's Convent on Chicago's north side, but later that same year moved to an old parish building at Ashland and 19th Streets, where they would remain until 1912. A section of the convent was converted into a music school. Graduates taught in parishes throughout the nation.
The priory was elevated to the status of abbey
by Pope Leo XIII in 1894, and the monks founded a school for lay monks
to help build a self-sustaining source of revenue. Failing to attract a single prospective applicant in over seven years, they expanded enrollment to students with no intention of joining the clergy. The two groups would eventually be taught separately, and the monastic students were trained to become priests fluent in Bohemian, German, and English and prepared to preach to ethnically diverse congregations. Lay students were trained for employment in the business world.
In 1900, Chicago had one of the largest Czech populations of any city in the world, with approximately 75,000–100,000 Czechs living in the city's 10 Czech communities. Some 50,000 Czech immigrants were served by the three Czech parishes of Chicago—16,000 to 20,000 of them by St. Procopius. These Czech immigrants wanted to assimilate into American society, but also wanted to pass their language on to their children. The abbey established St. Procopius College and Academy in 1887 as a school that taught men of Czech and Slovak
descent. It became the first Czech institution of higher learning in the nation, and in 1920 it remained the only Czech college. Rev. Procopius Neuzil was named the first teacher and director. Classes began on March 2, 1887, when Neuzil taught a remedial course to two students in two small rooms at 704 Allport Street. Enrollment grew to 20 within the week, taught by three instructors during the four-month term. The first full year of classes began in the fall of 1887. The college was chartered by the State of Illinois in 1890; only a two-year high school program was offered at the time. In 1893 the college published its first catalog, which urged Czech parents to enroll their 13-year-old boys. The academic curriculum included a preparatory year to teach elementary school subjects to remedial students. The two high school years were referred to as "Latin years", and included required courses in Czech, English, Latin, math, orthography
, history, and religion; optional courses included German and bookkeeping. Following the Latin years, students were enrolled in the business course, which included math, bookkeeping, economics, composition, history, oratory, and religion.
began as an orphanage. On March 14, 1899, the abbey founded St. Joseph's Orphanage on a farm in Lisle purchased from one Serafin Rott, and transferred 10 Czech orphans there from St. Hedwig's Polish Orphanage, which charged the parishes more for housing non-Polish orphans. It opened under the supervision of the Sisters of St. Benedict. Abbot Jaeger allowed the orphanage to use the land for free until more satisfactory housing could be constructed. The orphanage lacked stoves, fuel, adequate bedding, decent food, and any stable source of income. Neuzil, then editor-in-chief of the Czech Benedictine Press, raised $80,000 within 12 years from the generally impoverished Czech immigrant community through local publications. A new building was commissioned in 1899 to accommodate the increasing number of applicants for admission, including orphans from out-of-state. The new building was dedicated on July 2, 1900, at the same time as the cornerstone was laid for St. Procopius College, about 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) away.
Due to increasing applications for admission, still more space was required, and William Schwartz sold the abbey 40 acre of land in Lisle. On July 16, 1911, a new building was dedicated on the grounds of what is now Benet Academy, the same day the cornerstone was laid for the nearby Sacred Heart Convent. A girls' dormitory building was built in 1923. It was later converted into classrooms and renamed Benet Hall). A power plant, a larger chapel, and additional classrooms were dedicated in 1926. A gym was built in 1936; at that time the facility housed approximately 400 orphans. Twenty-three headstones from that period can be found in a small cemetery on the northwest side of the school, where orphans as young as three, one of the workmen, and several former orphans who had been raised at St. Joseph are buried. According to school lore, ghosts of orphans still haunt the fourth floor of St. Joseph Hall.
Elementary schooling at the orphanage featured better equipped classrooms than the original building. A few years after operations moved in 1911, the school offered a two-year business program. By 1948 the orphanage comprised the Lisle Manual Training School for Boys and the Lisle Industrial School for Girls, both of which were managed by the Sisters of St. Benedict and run by the Archdiocese of Chicago. In the 1950s Petru Hall was built as an annex on the east side of the dormitory building.
The archdiocese assumed control of the orphanage in 1920, and began accepting orphans from the Juvenile Court of Cook County
, most of whom came from broken homes whose parents did not pay the fines imposed by the court. This discouraged donations and strained the orphanage financially. Archbishop
Samuel Cardinal Stritch, discovering that only 12 of the 255 children were actually orphans and only five of them were Slavs, closed the orphanage in 1956. The 12 true orphans were moved to Holy Angels Orphanage in Des Plaines
. Bishop of Joliet Martin Dewey McNamara
gave the former orphanage buildings to St. Procopius Academy, which was at that time still combined with the college.
by Rev. Ildephonse Wittman, also a Benedictine, in 1894. In 1896, the Abbey bought a 104 acres (42.1 ha) farm in Lisle from Morris Neff to provide more space and a "better atmosphere". On March 12, 1900, a new building was approved, to be built at the southwest corner of Maple and College Avenues. The groundbreaking was held on April 19, 1900, the school moved in May, and the new facility was dedicated on July 1, 1901, by Peter Muldoon
, Bishop
of the Diocese
of Chicago. Classes began in September with six faculty and 11 students. Atheists in Chicago vehemently objected to the Catholic church-run school, but the Czech community came to the school's defense. Limited financial aid for the generally poor Czech immigrants led to meager enrollment. Attendance grew from 13 in 1901 to 100 in 1908.
The academy offered its first four-year high school program in 1904, with both "classical" , or college-preparatory, and "commercial", or vocational
, programs. Students enrolled in the commercial track studied for three years, the first two being identical to the classical track and the third consisting of specialized coursework. The commercial program was dropped in 1915. Tuition for a semester cost $80; it was increased to $100 in 1909. As of 1921, the school enrolled only men of Bohemian or Slovak ancestry.
Income and enrollment fell during the Great Depression
. Between 1917 and 1930, enrollment fell from 205 students to 140. The school sought accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
, but the application was denied because the college and academy could not be accredited as a single institution, and financial constraints prevented their separation. In 1932 the abbey and the school lost most of their money when the Kaspar American Bank in Chicago failed. Academic programs and student activities were not greatly affected, in part because the faculty was mainly clergymen, who were not highly paid. Still unaccredited, the school was certified by the state of Illinois in September 1934.
Students, faculty, and clergymen sustained themselves with food produced on the 365 acres (147.7 ha) Abbey Farm, which they maintained until the 1970s. Approximately 1,500 chickens provided eggs, while Brown Swiss
cattle provided milk. Meat came from the farm's supply of bulls, hogs, and heifers. Bee hives produced honey and wax, while a cannery produced more than 12000 gallons (45,424.9 l) of food products.
World War II
caused enrollment to decline and the student body consisted mainly of high school students and seminarians. Following the war, new students enrolled, and the school built a temporary facility in 1947 to accommodate them. Students from Illinois began to replace out-of-state students, the percentage of day, or commuting, students rose, and the school employed more lay teachers. After the war, the previously ethnic Czech college acquired a more diverse student body, due to rising enrollment caused by the G.I. Bill. By 1947 the high school enrolled 30 students. Better times and higher birth rates led to growing enrollment at St. Procopius in the 1950s and 1960s.
With the gift of the former orphanage facility, the academy began to operate independently from the college in 1957. It was accredited on March 28, 1958. St. Procopius College was renamed Illinois Benedictine College in 1971, and Benedictine University
in 1996. Under the leadership of its first principal, Rev. Thomas J. Havlik, the academy added new classrooms and St. Martin Hall to its facilities.
and boarding
high school for girls—the Sacred Heart Academy. The academy outgrew its space and in 1929 the convent was expanded to accommodate rising enrollment. The annexed facilities reserved for the school included a Renaissance
-style chapel, an auditorium, and a gymnasium. The Academy was later expanded to include the Jaeger Junior College.
The academy was primarily a boarding school. Students came from Illinois, the surrounding states, Texas
, and Mexico
. A few day students came from the Lisle area. In 1947 enrollment averaged 75 students. Enrollment grew from 120 in 1953 to 300 in 1958, and remained at that level until 1966. Day student enrollment also grew and in 1962 the academy stopped accepting boarding school students. By 1964, the last year in which boarding school students were enrolled, alumni had hailed from all US states, South America
, France
, Mexico
, and Guam
. Day students from 1964 to 1968 came from Lisle and the neighboring communities. Unlike St. Procopius Academy, Sacred Heart Academy offered a business curriculum from 1953 to 1966. Courses included shorthand
, typewriting, and bookkeeping
.
The students and nuns were supplied with food by the convent's 476 acres (192.6 ha) Benedale Farm. Cattle provided both dairy products and meat, while poultry provided eggs and their feathers were used to stuff pillows as another source of income. The nuns also raised rabbits and bees, and grew grain, hay, vegetables, grapes, and apples. The farm was closed in the late 1950s for financial reasons and the convent sold most of the land so a school could be built for the growing village of Lisle.
, typewriting, shorthand, and bookkeeping.
St. Thomas Hall, funded by a private donor, was erected to house a library and physical sciences facilities in 1975. A major construction project was launched in 1993, in response to increasing enrollment and a growing athletic program. The $5 million building plan included a new 1,800-seat gymnasium, a new boiler system and a new roof for the cafeteria and the existing gymnasium. New parking areas were planned and St. Mary's Hall was to be demolished.
Neighborhood residents, concerned about the impact on property values, traffic, and aesthetics, opposed the project. The Lisle Village Board blocked construction, charging that Benet had not notified the local community of the pending construction, to which Benet replied that "the school was there prior to the homes being constructed". The plan was approved in April, but the Board designated the entire 42 acres (17 ha) campus a "planned-unit development", requiring Board approval for all future modifications. The new facilities included zoned lighting areas, which allowed for multipurpose use for assemblies, performances, sporting events, and graduation ceremonies. Construction was completed in May 1994, and applications increased in the years that followed. The gym was later named as the St. Ronald Gymnasium to honor former principal Rev. Ronald Rigovsky.
In June 2000, a need for more performance space became apparent; the school's music groups used small, crowded rehearsal rooms and drama students performed in the old chapel or across the street at Sacred Heart Monastery. Benet began construction of a new 22000 square feet (2,043.9 m²) performing arts center at the east end of the campus to replace the 190-seat Assembly Hall on the third floor of St. Joseph Hall, originally a chapel for the St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage. As part of the project, the room was converted back into a chapel, named the Chapel of St. Therese.
Petru Hall, which was used for the annual school auction after the orphans left, was demolished to make way for the new performing arts center, named St. Daniel Hall, after Abbot Daniel Kucera and Saint Daniel
. Constructed of brick and pre-cast concrete, the design includes arched entrances to match the other buildings on campus. The facility features a 369-seat auditorium, an outdoor theater complex, a rehearsal room for bands and choirs, a set-construction area, and storage areas. In addition to plays and concerts, St. Daniel Hall is also used for assemblies, lectures, and masses
, which had previously been held in the gymnasium.
In May 2007, the school broke ground on a new $16 million science and student activity center. The 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) building includes extra corridors to ease hall traffic, a larger cafeteria, and additional storage space, along with four combination classrooms and laboratories for biology and earth science, three chemistry classrooms, and two chemistry labs.
year (around age 13). According to the Daily Herald, schools like Benet hope to accept the top 40 percent of students taking the exam. Seventh grade
(around age 12) transcripts and a student essay are also factors in admission. In 2003–04, 600 students applied for admission, 387 were accepted, and 338 enrolled. As of the 2010 admissions cycle, 70 percent of applicants were accepted.
Preference is given to siblings of current or former Benet students. In 1993 the average admitted eighth grader scored in the 87th percentile
on the placement test. Applicants without siblings at the school were admitted only with scores above the 75th percentile; applicants with siblings at Benet were admitted with scores as low as the 50th percentile on a case-by-case basis.
, French
, German
, and Latin are offered as foreign languages. Every summer since 1997, an English teacher has offered a one-week summer course in writing and photography. The school offers neither vocational
nor remedial
courses.
College credit is available through participation in 11 Advanced Placement courses; the Program for Advanced College Credit (PACC) offered through St. Mary's University of Minnesota, which offers advanced courses in English, math, government, and history; and the Benedictine University
Future Scholars Program, which offers college-level work in multivariable calculus
and finite mathematics
.
The Chicago Sun-Times
ranked Benet one of the top ten high schools in the Chicago area in 2003, based on graduate enrollment rates at four-year colleges and test scores over a four-year period. In 1999 Benet was also one of two high schools in DuPage County
, and 100 high schools nationwide, featured as an "Outstanding American High School" by US News and World Report. The study, conducted in conjunction with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago
, identified schools "where students progress steadily toward high academic standards and where every student matters." Benet has credited the school's academic success to Rev. Ronald Rigovsky, who served as principal for 23 years and as president from 1987 to 1992. During his tenure, said the Chicago Tribune
, Rigovsky developed the school into "one of the highest scoring and most scholastically respected high schools in the Chicago area."
Benet Academy is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the Illinois State Board of Education
, and the National Catholic Educational Association
.
, and Naperville
, but students in the class of 2013 came from 65 different schools and 34 different municipalities in DuPage
and surrounding counties.
The Benet graduating class of 2010 achieved an average composite score of 28.4 (above the 92nd percentile) on the ACT, a standardized college admission test, which was the seventh straight year average score topped 28, compared to a statewide average of 20.7 and national average of 21.0. Over 42 percent of the class had a score of 30 (above the 96th percentile) or higher. In 2000, Benet outscored all DuPage County high schools, which then-Principal Ernest Stark attributed to its closed campus policy, silent study halls, and "more focused" and "not very fancy" curriculum. In 1993, Benet's average ACT score exceeded those of 195 public high schools in northern Illinois, second only to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
, a selective residential school for gifted
students. In 2008, Benet had nine National Merit Semi-Finalists, 34 National Merit Commended Scholars, and 5 National Merit Hispanic Scholars in the National Merit Scholarship Program
and 137 students were named Illinois State Scholars, an honor awarded to top ten percent of seniors in the state and based on test scores, class rank, or both. In 2010, 332 students took Advanced Placement exams and 86 percent of them scored at least a three out of five. Two National AP Scholar
awards were granted to students who averaged a 4 on all exams taken and received at least a 4 on eight or more exams, 28 AP Scholar with Distinction awards were granted to students who averaged at least 3.5 on all exams taken and scored at least a 3 on five or more exams, 51 AP Scholar awards were granted to students who scored at least a 3 on three or more exams. 76 students received other AP Scholar awards. Benet does not report class rankings.
More than 99 percent of Benet graduates go to college; roughly 1 percent serve in the military. Benet students were implicated in the University of Illinois clout scandal
, in which some applicants were given preferential admission to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
(UIUC) despite having sub-par qualifications. The Chicago Tribune
, investigating the scandal, reported that a majority of students who were admitted to UIUC through political favors came from elite, affluent high schools such as Benet, where families were politically connected with elected officials and university trustees. An email between admissions officers revealed that a female Benet student was admitted to the university's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
, despite the fact that she had ranked lower than 27 of her classmates who were put on a waiting list or denied admission. Between 2005 and 2009, thirteen applicants from Benet were alleged to have had political connections; eight of them were admitted to UIUC.
In 2010 Benet employed 76 faculty, 26 of whom were alumni of the school. The average tenure was 17.6 years; 25 current or former faculty members served for 25 years or more. Tim White, an English teacher, completed his 50th consecutive year of teaching at Benet in the 2008–09 school year and was featured in an ABC 7 News
segment entitled "Someone You Should Know".
, but it became respected on campus in the 1920s under the direction of Rev. Benedict Bauer. Bauer served as Athletic Director until 1927 while also coaching basketball, baseball, and football, and planned the construction of a new gymnasium in 1925. The college's varsity baseball team won conference championships in 1924 and 1925, and the football team defeated the University of Notre Dame
freshman team in 1925.
Benet competes in the East Suburban Catholic Conference
(ESCC), part of the Illinois High School Association
(IHSA). The school sponsors teams, named the Benet Academy Redwings, for men and women in basketball
, cross country
, golf
, lacrosse
, soccer, swimming
and diving
, tennis
, track and field
, volleyball
, and bass fishing
. Only men compete in baseball
, football
, and ice hockey
. Only women compete in cheerleading
and softball
. Since 1978, Benet has placed in the top four at least once in state tournaments in basketball, cross country, football, soccer, and tennis. In 2008–09, the girls' volleyball team finished second in the state. In November 2010 six student-athletes signed letters of intent to play at NCAA Division I universities. The school's boys basketball team was also ranked sixth in the nation in February 2011 by USA Today
.
Benet's boys' basketball team has set several state records, including a 102 home-game winning streak between November 26, 1975 and January 24, 1987. The streak ended when Benet lost to Naperville North High School
46–47. The team compiled a 96 game in-conference winning streak from January 21, 1977, to February 24, 1984. The team recorded twelve consecutive seasons with at least 20 wins from 1975 to 1987, tied for the ninth longest streak in state history. The basketball team honors these school records by playing one home game each year in the Alumni Gym, where the streaks were recorded.
In 2000, the department began depicting works that were "not quite so fluffy and light", including Children of Eden
, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof
, The Pirates of Penzance
, and Into the Woods
. In 2006, the department celebrated its tenth anniversary of musical performances with a production of The Music Man
.
Benet's band program, practically nonexistent in the late 1950s, was revitalized by director Andy Marchese in the mid-1960s, who introduced new uniforms, regularly scheduled concerts, and marching band trophies. Participation in the marching band also increased after the school became coeducational, since there were more musicians willing to play instruments male students saw as feminine. Out of 1,275 students at Benet in 1999–00, 130 were choir students and 115 were band students. Instrumental groups include three concert band
s, three jazz band
s, a marching band
, and a pep band
. In 1998 the pep band was one of eight schools chosen from a pool of 58 to perform at the state basketball tournament. In 2002, the school's symphonic band was one of three high school bands invited to play at the Illinois Music Educators Association All-State Conference in Peoria
. Vocal music groups include five choirs, one of which is a student-led mass choir that participates in school liturgies
.
, and a Campus Ministry geared towards fostering the students' Catholic faith. Campus Ministry assists in coordinating several three-day retreats held throughout the year, through which students are encouraged to reexamine their faith. Club activities include the Outreach Society service organization, Medical Club, and foreign language clubs. Student Government, in addition to coordinating the Christmas Drive, organizes student activities like prom
, film festival
s, and male beauty contest
s.
Benet's Math Team won third place in its division in 2004, first place in 2005, and fourth place in 2006 in the state math competition sponsored by the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Benet's Science Olympiad
team won second place in its division at the state tournaments in 2008 and 2010. In February 2010, the Law Club participated in its first mock trial
, sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association
, which is expected to become an annual event.
, and the Outreach Society. The fundraising efforts are varied and creative; boys donate money to remain unshaven (otherwise a violation of school policy), the National Honor Society sells baked goods, the Mother's Club serves breakfast, and each class competes to gather the most pennies in the school-wide "penny wars". The Christmas Drive was featured in the cover story of the December 2010 issue of Christ is our Hope, the official magazine of the Diocese of Joliet. In the previous year the school had raised $54,500. The money was used to support a mission trip in Appalachia
, and also to provide food, school supplies, blankets, and gifts to local families in the Chicago area. In 2010, the student body raised $66,200.
gold medalist Nancy Johnson
; National Football League
players Steve Baumgartner
, Dan LeFevour
, and Justin McCareins; professional boxer Mike Lee; and professional poker player and Positively Fifth Street
author James McManus
.
Grammy
-winning rock
singer Dave Bickler
, former lead singer of the group Survivor
, and Diablo Cody
, Oscar-winning screenwriter of Juno
, graduated from Benet, as did former Illinois Attorney General
and gubernatorial
candidate Jim Ryan
.
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
high school in Lisle
Lisle, Illinois
Lisle is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,930 at the 2011 census, and estimated to be 23,135 as of 2008. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor...
, Illinois, United States, overseen by the Diocese of Joliet. Founded in 1887, the school was initially established in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
as the all-boys St. Procopius College and Academy by Benedictine monks, who also operated the St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage. In 1898, the orphanage moved to Lisle, about 25 miles (40.2 km) west of Chicago, to be joined by St. Procopius three years later. In 1926 Benedictine nuns constructed the all-girls Sacred Heart Academy near the orphanage and school in Lisle. The orphanage closed in 1956 to make room for St. Procopius Academy, which separated from the college in 1957. Due to rising costs and waning enrollment, Sacred Heart merged with St. Procopius Academy in 1967 to form Benet Academy on the St. Procopius campus. Since then, numerous building projects have been undertaken to expand Benet's athletics, music, and science programs.
Admission is competitive and relies primarily on test scores. All students complete a college-preparatory curriculum and may earn college credit through programs including Advanced Placement. As of 2009, Benet's average ACT test score regularly exceeds state and national averages, and more than 99 percent of students go on to college after graduation. The school's academic program has been featured in reports by the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
and U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
.
The athletic program has fielded several teams that have placed fourth or higher in state tournaments. The boys' basketball team has broken two state records, including a 102 home-game winning streak. Other activities include the annual Christmas Drive fundraiser and over 30 clubs and organizations, including the Math Team and Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is an American elementary, middle, or high school team competition which tests knowledge of various science topics and engineering ability. Over 6,200 teams from 49 U.S. states compete each year. Most teams compete in three levels of competition: regionals, states, and nationals...
team, both of which have won awards in their state tournaments. Benet's performing arts program stages an annual musical. The band program performed in state-wide events in 1998 and 2002. Notable alumni of the school include former Illinois Attorney General
Illinois Attorney General
The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by election through universal suffrage...
Jim Ryan
Jim Ryan (politician)
James E. Ryan is an American politician who served two four-year terms as Illinois Attorney General. A career Republican, he received his party's nomination and ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Illinois against Rod Blagojevich in 2002. He has been a professor at Benedictine University since 2003...
and Grammy-winning singer Dave Bickler
Dave Bickler
Dave Bickler is an American vocalist, best known as the lead singer for the rock band Survivor from 1977–1983. His distinctive vocal was featured on the #1 U.S. hit "Eye of the Tiger". In addition to his wide vocal range, his street-wise image included a trademark beret...
.
Founding in Chicago
In the aftermath of the Great Chicago FireGreat Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...
, Chicago's working-class Pilsen neighborhood
Lower West Side, Chicago
Lower West Side located on the west side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of 77 well-defined Chicago community areas.-Government and infrastructure:The United States Postal Service operates the Pilsen Post Office at 1859 South Ashland Avenue....
, a predominantly Czech enclave, expanded quickly. To serve this growing ethnic population, St. Procopius parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
was founded in the summer of 1875, near the intersection of 18th and Allport Streets. The parish was named for Saint Procopius of Sázava, who founded a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
in the eleventh century and became the first saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. Vilém Čoka served as the first pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
. Planning to build a school, Čoka left it to the community to decide if the school would be secular or Catholic. They chose a Catholic school, despite the fact that only 25 percent of Pilsen's Czech population was Catholic. As the parish outgrew his capacity to serve them, Čoka turned for help to the Order of St. Benedict.
Rev. John Nepomucene Jaeger, the first Bohemian abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
in the United States, was urged to establish a monastic
Monasticism
Monasticism is a religious way of life characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to spiritual work...
community to teach at parochial school
Parochial school
A parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...
s in Bohemian as well as English. He founded St. Procopius priory in 1885. The priory took control of St. Procopius parish in January 1886, and Jaeger became the pastor. Jaeger also founded a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
in 1895, consisting of nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s brought from St. Mary's Convent in Pittsburgh and headed by Jaeger's biological sister, Mother Mary Nepomucene Jaeger. The Czech-American media had pushed for a convent to prepare Czech-speaking nuns for teaching positions in Czech parochial schools, which had previously hired mostly lay teachers trained in Austrian normal school
Normal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
s. The nuns were transferred from Pittsburgh to St. Scholastica's Convent on Chicago's north side, but later that same year moved to an old parish building at Ashland and 19th Streets, where they would remain until 1912. A section of the convent was converted into a music school. Graduates taught in parishes throughout the nation.
The priory was elevated to the status of abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
by Pope Leo XIII in 1894, and the monks founded a school for lay monks
Lay brother
In the most common usage, lay brothers are those members of Catholic religious orders, particularly of monastic orders, occupied primarily with manual labour and with the secular affairs of a monastery or friary, in contrast to the choir monks of the same monastery who are devoted mainly to the...
to help build a self-sustaining source of revenue. Failing to attract a single prospective applicant in over seven years, they expanded enrollment to students with no intention of joining the clergy. The two groups would eventually be taught separately, and the monastic students were trained to become priests fluent in Bohemian, German, and English and prepared to preach to ethnically diverse congregations. Lay students were trained for employment in the business world.
In 1900, Chicago had one of the largest Czech populations of any city in the world, with approximately 75,000–100,000 Czechs living in the city's 10 Czech communities. Some 50,000 Czech immigrants were served by the three Czech parishes of Chicago—16,000 to 20,000 of them by St. Procopius. These Czech immigrants wanted to assimilate into American society, but also wanted to pass their language on to their children. The abbey established St. Procopius College and Academy in 1887 as a school that taught men of Czech and Slovak
Slovaks
The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...
descent. It became the first Czech institution of higher learning in the nation, and in 1920 it remained the only Czech college. Rev. Procopius Neuzil was named the first teacher and director. Classes began on March 2, 1887, when Neuzil taught a remedial course to two students in two small rooms at 704 Allport Street. Enrollment grew to 20 within the week, taught by three instructors during the four-month term. The first full year of classes began in the fall of 1887. The college was chartered by the State of Illinois in 1890; only a two-year high school program was offered at the time. In 1893 the college published its first catalog, which urged Czech parents to enroll their 13-year-old boys. The academic curriculum included a preparatory year to teach elementary school subjects to remedial students. The two high school years were referred to as "Latin years", and included required courses in Czech, English, Latin, math, orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
, history, and religion; optional courses included German and bookkeeping. Following the Latin years, students were enrolled in the business course, which included math, bookkeeping, economics, composition, history, oratory, and religion.
Orphanage
The Benet Academy campus in LisleLisle, Illinois
Lisle is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,930 at the 2011 census, and estimated to be 23,135 as of 2008. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor...
began as an orphanage. On March 14, 1899, the abbey founded St. Joseph's Orphanage on a farm in Lisle purchased from one Serafin Rott, and transferred 10 Czech orphans there from St. Hedwig's Polish Orphanage, which charged the parishes more for housing non-Polish orphans. It opened under the supervision of the Sisters of St. Benedict. Abbot Jaeger allowed the orphanage to use the land for free until more satisfactory housing could be constructed. The orphanage lacked stoves, fuel, adequate bedding, decent food, and any stable source of income. Neuzil, then editor-in-chief of the Czech Benedictine Press, raised $80,000 within 12 years from the generally impoverished Czech immigrant community through local publications. A new building was commissioned in 1899 to accommodate the increasing number of applicants for admission, including orphans from out-of-state. The new building was dedicated on July 2, 1900, at the same time as the cornerstone was laid for St. Procopius College, about 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) away.
Due to increasing applications for admission, still more space was required, and William Schwartz sold the abbey 40 acre of land in Lisle. On July 16, 1911, a new building was dedicated on the grounds of what is now Benet Academy, the same day the cornerstone was laid for the nearby Sacred Heart Convent. A girls' dormitory building was built in 1923. It was later converted into classrooms and renamed Benet Hall). A power plant, a larger chapel, and additional classrooms were dedicated in 1926. A gym was built in 1936; at that time the facility housed approximately 400 orphans. Twenty-three headstones from that period can be found in a small cemetery on the northwest side of the school, where orphans as young as three, one of the workmen, and several former orphans who had been raised at St. Joseph are buried. According to school lore, ghosts of orphans still haunt the fourth floor of St. Joseph Hall.
Elementary schooling at the orphanage featured better equipped classrooms than the original building. A few years after operations moved in 1911, the school offered a two-year business program. By 1948 the orphanage comprised the Lisle Manual Training School for Boys and the Lisle Industrial School for Girls, both of which were managed by the Sisters of St. Benedict and run by the Archdiocese of Chicago. In the 1950s Petru Hall was built as an annex on the east side of the dormitory building.
The archdiocese assumed control of the orphanage in 1920, and began accepting orphans from the Juvenile Court of Cook County
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
, most of whom came from broken homes whose parents did not pay the fines imposed by the court. This discouraged donations and strained the orphanage financially. Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Samuel Cardinal Stritch, discovering that only 12 of the 255 children were actually orphans and only five of them were Slavs, closed the orphanage in 1956. The 12 true orphans were moved to Holy Angels Orphanage in Des Plaines
Des Plaines, Illinois
Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It has adopted the official nickname of "City of Destiny." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,720. It is a suburb of Chicago, and is next to O'Hare International Airport...
. Bishop of Joliet Martin Dewey McNamara
Martin Dewey McNamara
Martin Dewey McNamara was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the first Bishop of Joliet, Illinois .-Biography:...
gave the former orphanage buildings to St. Procopius Academy, which was at that time still combined with the college.
College in Lisle
As enrollment increased to 46 in 1891, it became obvious that St. Procopius College's enrollment would soon outstrip its facilities in Pilsen. Neuzil was replaced as rectorRector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
by Rev. Ildephonse Wittman, also a Benedictine, in 1894. In 1896, the Abbey bought a 104 acres (42.1 ha) farm in Lisle from Morris Neff to provide more space and a "better atmosphere". On March 12, 1900, a new building was approved, to be built at the southwest corner of Maple and College Avenues. The groundbreaking was held on April 19, 1900, the school moved in May, and the new facility was dedicated on July 1, 1901, by Peter Muldoon
Peter Muldoon
Peter J. Muldoon was born in Columbia, California to Irish immigrants John and Catherine Muldoon. He was educated at St. Mary's College in St. Mary, Kentucky and St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, Maryland and ordained a Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1886...
, Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of Chicago. Classes began in September with six faculty and 11 students. Atheists in Chicago vehemently objected to the Catholic church-run school, but the Czech community came to the school's defense. Limited financial aid for the generally poor Czech immigrants led to meager enrollment. Attendance grew from 13 in 1901 to 100 in 1908.
The academy offered its first four-year high school program in 1904, with both "classical" , or college-preparatory, and "commercial", or vocational
Vocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
, programs. Students enrolled in the commercial track studied for three years, the first two being identical to the classical track and the third consisting of specialized coursework. The commercial program was dropped in 1915. Tuition for a semester cost $80; it was increased to $100 in 1909. As of 1921, the school enrolled only men of Bohemian or Slovak ancestry.
Income and enrollment fell during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Between 1917 and 1930, enrollment fell from 205 students to 140. The school sought accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools , also known as the North Central Association, is a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states, that is engaged in educational accreditation...
, but the application was denied because the college and academy could not be accredited as a single institution, and financial constraints prevented their separation. In 1932 the abbey and the school lost most of their money when the Kaspar American Bank in Chicago failed. Academic programs and student activities were not greatly affected, in part because the faculty was mainly clergymen, who were not highly paid. Still unaccredited, the school was certified by the state of Illinois in September 1934.
Students, faculty, and clergymen sustained themselves with food produced on the 365 acres (147.7 ha) Abbey Farm, which they maintained until the 1970s. Approximately 1,500 chickens provided eggs, while Brown Swiss
Brown Swiss
Brown Swiss is a breed of dairy cattle that produces the second largest quantity of milk per annum, over . The milk contains on average 4% butterfat and 3.5% protein, making their milk excellent for production of cheese. The Brown Swiss is known for a long gestation period, immense size, large...
cattle provided milk. Meat came from the farm's supply of bulls, hogs, and heifers. Bee hives produced honey and wax, while a cannery produced more than 12000 gallons (45,424.9 l) of food products.
World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
caused enrollment to decline and the student body consisted mainly of high school students and seminarians. Following the war, new students enrolled, and the school built a temporary facility in 1947 to accommodate them. Students from Illinois began to replace out-of-state students, the percentage of day, or commuting, students rose, and the school employed more lay teachers. After the war, the previously ethnic Czech college acquired a more diverse student body, due to rising enrollment caused by the G.I. Bill. By 1947 the high school enrolled 30 students. Better times and higher birth rates led to growing enrollment at St. Procopius in the 1950s and 1960s.
With the gift of the former orphanage facility, the academy began to operate independently from the college in 1957. It was accredited on March 28, 1958. St. Procopius College was renamed Illinois Benedictine College in 1971, and Benedictine University
Benedictine University
Benedictine University is a private Catholic university located in Lisle, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The institution has retained close relations with the Benedictine Order. Originally named St. Procopius College and located in the Pilsen community of Chicago, the school was founded in 1887 by...
in 1996. Under the leadership of its first principal, Rev. Thomas J. Havlik, the academy added new classrooms and St. Martin Hall to its facilities.
Convent in Lisle
By 1912, the community of nuns had outgrown their convent in Chicago, and relocated to the new Convent of the Sacred Heart in Lisle. They had prospered there as a teaching order educating Slovak-speaking nuns and organized two Slovak schools. In 1926, under the leadership of Mother Mary Genevieve, the convent founded a dayDay school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
and boarding
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
high school for girls—the Sacred Heart Academy. The academy outgrew its space and in 1929 the convent was expanded to accommodate rising enrollment. The annexed facilities reserved for the school included a Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
-style chapel, an auditorium, and a gymnasium. The Academy was later expanded to include the Jaeger Junior College.
The academy was primarily a boarding school. Students came from Illinois, the surrounding states, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. A few day students came from the Lisle area. In 1947 enrollment averaged 75 students. Enrollment grew from 120 in 1953 to 300 in 1958, and remained at that level until 1966. Day student enrollment also grew and in 1962 the academy stopped accepting boarding school students. By 1964, the last year in which boarding school students were enrolled, alumni had hailed from all US states, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
. Day students from 1964 to 1968 came from Lisle and the neighboring communities. Unlike St. Procopius Academy, Sacred Heart Academy offered a business curriculum from 1953 to 1966. Courses included shorthand
Shorthand
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed or brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphē or graphie...
, typewriting, and bookkeeping
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions. Transactions include sales, purchases, income, receipts and payments by an individual or organization. Bookkeeping is usually performed by a bookkeeper. Bookkeeping should not be confused with accounting. The accounting process is usually...
.
The students and nuns were supplied with food by the convent's 476 acres (192.6 ha) Benedale Farm. Cattle provided both dairy products and meat, while poultry provided eggs and their feathers were used to stuff pillows as another source of income. The nuns also raised rabbits and bees, and grew grain, hay, vegetables, grapes, and apples. The farm was closed in the late 1950s for financial reasons and the convent sold most of the land so a school could be built for the growing village of Lisle.
Merger and expansion
In the 1960s, St. Procopius Academy faced dwindling enrollment and funding. The Benedictines threatened to close the boys' school, but were dissuaded by Abbot Daniel W. Kucera, who had graduated from St. Procopius in 1941. Under Abbot Kucera's leadership, St. Procopius Academy and Sacred Heart Academy merged to form Benet (an anglicized form of "Benedict") Academy in 1967, on the former St. Procopius campus. Enrollment in 1968 was at 875 students, including 575 boys and 300 girls. The business education program from Sacred Heart was continued at the new school; three teachers taught courses in consumer economicsConsumer economics
Consumer economics is a branch of economics. It is a broad field, principally concerned with microeconomic analysis behavior in units of consumers, families, or individuals . It sometimes also encompasses family financial planning and policy analysis...
, typewriting, shorthand, and bookkeeping.
St. Thomas Hall, funded by a private donor, was erected to house a library and physical sciences facilities in 1975. A major construction project was launched in 1993, in response to increasing enrollment and a growing athletic program. The $5 million building plan included a new 1,800-seat gymnasium, a new boiler system and a new roof for the cafeteria and the existing gymnasium. New parking areas were planned and St. Mary's Hall was to be demolished.
Neighborhood residents, concerned about the impact on property values, traffic, and aesthetics, opposed the project. The Lisle Village Board blocked construction, charging that Benet had not notified the local community of the pending construction, to which Benet replied that "the school was there prior to the homes being constructed". The plan was approved in April, but the Board designated the entire 42 acres (17 ha) campus a "planned-unit development", requiring Board approval for all future modifications. The new facilities included zoned lighting areas, which allowed for multipurpose use for assemblies, performances, sporting events, and graduation ceremonies. Construction was completed in May 1994, and applications increased in the years that followed. The gym was later named as the St. Ronald Gymnasium to honor former principal Rev. Ronald Rigovsky.
In June 2000, a need for more performance space became apparent; the school's music groups used small, crowded rehearsal rooms and drama students performed in the old chapel or across the street at Sacred Heart Monastery. Benet began construction of a new 22000 square feet (2,043.9 m²) performing arts center at the east end of the campus to replace the 190-seat Assembly Hall on the third floor of St. Joseph Hall, originally a chapel for the St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage. As part of the project, the room was converted back into a chapel, named the Chapel of St. Therese.
Petru Hall, which was used for the annual school auction after the orphans left, was demolished to make way for the new performing arts center, named St. Daniel Hall, after Abbot Daniel Kucera and Saint Daniel
Daniel
Daniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...
. Constructed of brick and pre-cast concrete, the design includes arched entrances to match the other buildings on campus. The facility features a 369-seat auditorium, an outdoor theater complex, a rehearsal room for bands and choirs, a set-construction area, and storage areas. In addition to plays and concerts, St. Daniel Hall is also used for assemblies, lectures, and masses
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
, which had previously been held in the gymnasium.
In May 2007, the school broke ground on a new $16 million science and student activity center. The 50000 square feet (4,645.2 m²) building includes extra corridors to ease hall traffic, a larger cafeteria, and additional storage space, along with four combination classrooms and laboratories for biology and earth science, three chemistry classrooms, and two chemistry labs.
Admissions
Admission is competitive and primarily based on the High School Placement Test, a standardized test by Scholastic Testing Service, taken in January of applicants' eighth gradeEighth grade
Eighth grade is a year of education in the United States, Canada, Australia and other nations. Students are usually 13 - 14 years old. The eighth grade is typically the final grade before high school, and the ninth grade of public and private education, following kindergarten and subsequent grades...
year (around age 13). According to the Daily Herald, schools like Benet hope to accept the top 40 percent of students taking the exam. Seventh grade
Seventh grade
Seventh grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The seventh grade is the seventh school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 12–13 years old. Traditionally, seventh grade was the next-to-last year of elementary school...
(around age 12) transcripts and a student essay are also factors in admission. In 2003–04, 600 students applied for admission, 387 were accepted, and 338 enrolled. As of the 2010 admissions cycle, 70 percent of applicants were accepted.
Preference is given to siblings of current or former Benet students. In 1993 the average admitted eighth grader scored in the 87th percentile
Percentile
In statistics, a percentile is the value of a variable below which a certain percent of observations fall. For example, the 20th percentile is the value below which 20 percent of the observations may be found...
on the placement test. Applicants without siblings at the school were admitted only with scores above the 75th percentile; applicants with siblings at Benet were admitted with scores as low as the 50th percentile on a case-by-case basis.
Academics
As of the 2009–10 school year, students are required to complete 23 Carnegie units of a college-preparatory curriculum to graduate, including 4 units of English, 2 units of foreign language, 3 units of math, 1 unit of world history, 1 unit of US history, 3 units of lab science, 2.5 units of religion, 1.5 units of physical education, and 5 five units of electives. SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, and Latin are offered as foreign languages. Every summer since 1997, an English teacher has offered a one-week summer course in writing and photography. The school offers neither vocational
Vocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
nor remedial
Remedial education
Postsecondary remedial education is a large and growing segment of higher education in the United States...
courses.
College credit is available through participation in 11 Advanced Placement courses; the Program for Advanced College Credit (PACC) offered through St. Mary's University of Minnesota, which offers advanced courses in English, math, government, and history; and the Benedictine University
Benedictine University
Benedictine University is a private Catholic university located in Lisle, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. The institution has retained close relations with the Benedictine Order. Originally named St. Procopius College and located in the Pilsen community of Chicago, the school was founded in 1887 by...
Future Scholars Program, which offers college-level work in multivariable calculus
Multivariable calculus
Multivariable calculus is the extension of calculus in one variable to calculus in more than one variable: the differentiated and integrated functions involve multiple variables, rather than just one....
and finite mathematics
Discrete mathematics
Discrete mathematics is the study of mathematical structures that are fundamentally discrete rather than continuous. In contrast to real numbers that have the property of varying "smoothly", the objects studied in discrete mathematics – such as integers, graphs, and statements in logic – do not...
.
The Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
ranked Benet one of the top ten high schools in the Chicago area in 2003, based on graduate enrollment rates at four-year colleges and test scores over a four-year period. In 1999 Benet was also one of two high schools in DuPage County
DuPage County, Illinois
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 916,924, White Americans made up 77.9% of Dupage County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 70.5% of the population. Black Americans made up 4.6% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.3% of Dupage County's population...
, and 100 high schools nationwide, featured as an "Outstanding American High School" by US News and World Report. The study, conducted in conjunction with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, identified schools "where students progress steadily toward high academic standards and where every student matters." Benet has credited the school's academic success to Rev. Ronald Rigovsky, who served as principal for 23 years and as president from 1987 to 1992. During his tenure, said the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, Rigovsky developed the school into "one of the highest scoring and most scholastically respected high schools in the Chicago area."
Benet Academy is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the Illinois State Board of Education
Illinois State Board of Education
The Illinois State Board of Education administers public education in the state of Illinois. The State Board consists of nine members who are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the...
, and the National Catholic Educational Association
National Catholic Educational Association
The National Catholic Educational Association is a private professional educational association of over 200,000 educators in Catholic schools, universities, and religious education programs...
.
Students and faculty
Benet enrolled 1,333 students in 2009–10. Most students come from Catholic families with professional and college-educated parents. In 2003–04, 97 percent of students were Roman Catholic; two percent received financial aid, which totaled $3,000. Tuition was $6,000. The average class size was 27 students. Most students come from Lisle, Downers GroveDowners Grove, Illinois
Downers Grove is a village in Downers Grove and Lisle Townships, DuPage County, Illinois, United States. The population was 48,724 at the 2000 census, with an official estimated population of 49,250 in 2008.-History:...
, and Naperville
Naperville, Illinois
Naperville is a city in DuPage and Will Counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 141,853. It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago,...
, but students in the class of 2013 came from 65 different schools and 34 different municipalities in DuPage
DuPage County, Illinois
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 916,924, White Americans made up 77.9% of Dupage County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 70.5% of the population. Black Americans made up 4.6% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.3% of Dupage County's population...
and surrounding counties.
The Benet graduating class of 2010 achieved an average composite score of 28.4 (above the 92nd percentile) on the ACT, a standardized college admission test, which was the seventh straight year average score topped 28, compared to a statewide average of 20.7 and national average of 21.0. Over 42 percent of the class had a score of 30 (above the 96th percentile) or higher. In 2000, Benet outscored all DuPage County high schools, which then-Principal Ernest Stark attributed to its closed campus policy, silent study halls, and "more focused" and "not very fancy" curriculum. In 1993, Benet's average ACT score exceeded those of 195 public high schools in northern Illinois, second only to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, or IMSA, is a three-year residential public high school located in Aurora, Illinois, USA, with an enrollment of approximately 650 students...
, a selective residential school for gifted
Intellectual giftedness
Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. It is different from a skill, in that skills are learned or acquired behaviors...
students. In 2008, Benet had nine National Merit Semi-Finalists, 34 National Merit Commended Scholars, and 5 National Merit Hispanic Scholars in the National Merit Scholarship Program
National Merit Scholarship Program
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and college scholarships administered by National Merit Scholarship Corporation , a privately funded, not-for-profit organization. The program began in 1955...
and 137 students were named Illinois State Scholars, an honor awarded to top ten percent of seniors in the state and based on test scores, class rank, or both. In 2010, 332 students took Advanced Placement exams and 86 percent of them scored at least a three out of five. Two National AP Scholar
Advanced Placement Awards
The College Board offers several awards to select students who take Advanced Placement exams.The term "award" is perhaps misleading, as no benefit is awarded to the recipient except the title itself.-AP Scholar Designations:...
awards were granted to students who averaged a 4 on all exams taken and received at least a 4 on eight or more exams, 28 AP Scholar with Distinction awards were granted to students who averaged at least 3.5 on all exams taken and scored at least a 3 on five or more exams, 51 AP Scholar awards were granted to students who scored at least a 3 on three or more exams. 76 students received other AP Scholar awards. Benet does not report class rankings.
More than 99 percent of Benet graduates go to college; roughly 1 percent serve in the military. Benet students were implicated in the University of Illinois clout scandal
University of Illinois clout scandal
The University of Illinois clout scandal resulted from a series of articles in the Chicago Tribune which reported that some applicants to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "received special consideration" for acceptance between 2005 and 2009, despite having sub-par qualifications. ...
, in which some applicants were given preferential admission to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
(UIUC) despite having sub-par qualifications. The Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, investigating the scandal, reported that a majority of students who were admitted to UIUC through political favors came from elite, affluent high schools such as Benet, where families were politically connected with elected officials and university trustees. An email between admissions officers revealed that a female Benet student was admitted to the university's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
UIUC College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the largest college in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, created in 1913 through the merger of the College of Literature and Arts and the College of Science. It has nationally ranked programs in chemistry, psychology and speech communications...
, despite the fact that she had ranked lower than 27 of her classmates who were put on a waiting list or denied admission. Between 2005 and 2009, thirteen applicants from Benet were alleged to have had political connections; eight of them were admitted to UIUC.
In 2010 Benet employed 76 faculty, 26 of whom were alumni of the school. The average tenure was 17.6 years; 25 current or former faculty members served for 25 years or more. Tim White, an English teacher, completed his 50th consecutive year of teaching at Benet in the 2008–09 school year and was featured in an ABC 7 News
WLS-TV
WLS-TV, virtual channel 7, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The station operates their full power digital operations on UHF channel 44, with their digital fill-in translator on VHF channel...
segment entitled "Someone You Should Know".
Sports
The St. Procopius Academy football team played its first game against Downers Grove High School on Thanksgiving Day, 1917. At first some faculty members did not approve of American footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, but it became respected on campus in the 1920s under the direction of Rev. Benedict Bauer. Bauer served as Athletic Director until 1927 while also coaching basketball, baseball, and football, and planned the construction of a new gymnasium in 1925. The college's varsity baseball team won conference championships in 1924 and 1925, and the football team defeated the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
freshman team in 1925.
Benet competes in the East Suburban Catholic Conference
East Suburban Catholic Conference
The East Suburban Catholic Conference is an athletic conference consisting of 13 Catholic high schools in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois . The conference became independent in 1974....
(ESCC), part of the Illinois High School Association
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...
(IHSA). The school sponsors teams, named the Benet Academy Redwings, for men and women in basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
, soccer, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, and bass fishing
Bass fishing
Bass fishing is the activity of angling for the North American gamefish known colloquially as the black bass. There are numerous black bass species considered as gamefish in North America, including largemouth bass , smallmouth bass , Spotted bass or Kentucky bass , Guadalupe bass Bass fishing is...
. Only men compete in baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, and ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. Only women compete in cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
and softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
. Since 1978, Benet has placed in the top four at least once in state tournaments in basketball, cross country, football, soccer, and tennis. In 2008–09, the girls' volleyball team finished second in the state. In November 2010 six student-athletes signed letters of intent to play at NCAA Division I universities. The school's boys basketball team was also ranked sixth in the nation in February 2011 by USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
.
Benet's boys' basketball team has set several state records, including a 102 home-game winning streak between November 26, 1975 and January 24, 1987. The streak ended when Benet lost to Naperville North High School
Naperville North High School
Naperville North High School is a public four-year comprehensive high school located at the corner of Ogden Avenue and Mill Street in the northern-central part of Naperville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States...
46–47. The team compiled a 96 game in-conference winning streak from January 21, 1977, to February 24, 1984. The team recorded twelve consecutive seasons with at least 20 wins from 1975 to 1987, tied for the ninth longest streak in state history. The basketball team honors these school records by playing one home game each year in the Alumni Gym, where the streaks were recorded.
Performing arts
The theater department has staged annual musicals since 1997. Shows have included Bye Bye Birdie, Guys and Dolls, and Hello, Dolly!Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
In 2000, the department began depicting works that were "not quite so fluffy and light", including Children of Eden
Children of Eden
Children of Eden is a two-act musical play with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John Caird. The musical is based on the Book of Genesis. Act I tells the story of Adam and Eve, Cain, and Abel, and Act II deals with Noah and the Flood...
, West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
, The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
, and Into the Woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
. In 2006, the department celebrated its tenth anniversary of musical performances with a production of The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
.
Benet's band program, practically nonexistent in the late 1950s, was revitalized by director Andy Marchese in the mid-1960s, who introduced new uniforms, regularly scheduled concerts, and marching band trophies. Participation in the marching band also increased after the school became coeducational, since there were more musicians willing to play instruments male students saw as feminine. Out of 1,275 students at Benet in 1999–00, 130 were choir students and 115 were band students. Instrumental groups include three concert band
Concert band
A concert band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra, wind symphony, wind ensemble, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind instrument family, brass instrument family, and percussion instrument family.A...
s, three jazz band
Jazz band
A jazz band is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands usually consist of a rhythm section and a horn section, in the early days often trumpet, trombone, and clarinet with rhythm section of piano, banjo, bass or tuba, and drums.-Eras:SwingDuring the swing era in the mid-twentieth...
s, a marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
, and a pep band
Pep band
A pep band is an ensemble of instrumentalists who play at functions or events with the purpose of entertaining and "pepping" up a crowd. Often members of a pep band are a subset of people from a larger ensemble such as a marching band or a concert band. Pep bands are generally associated with...
. In 1998 the pep band was one of eight schools chosen from a pool of 58 to perform at the state basketball tournament. In 2002, the school's symphonic band was one of three high school bands invited to play at the Illinois Music Educators Association All-State Conference in Peoria
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
. Vocal music groups include five choirs, one of which is a student-led mass choir that participates in school liturgies
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
.
Clubs and organizations
Student clubs and organizations include the National Honor Society and Model United NationsModel United Nations
Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about current events, topics in international relations, diplomacy and the United Nations agenda....
, and a Campus Ministry geared towards fostering the students' Catholic faith. Campus Ministry assists in coordinating several three-day retreats held throughout the year, through which students are encouraged to reexamine their faith. Club activities include the Outreach Society service organization, Medical Club, and foreign language clubs. Student Government, in addition to coordinating the Christmas Drive, organizes student activities like prom
Prom
In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance, or gathering of high school students. It is typically held near the end of the senior year. It figures greatly in popular culture and is a major event among high school students...
, film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s, and male beauty contest
Beauty contest
A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...
s.
Benet's Math Team won third place in its division in 2004, first place in 2005, and fourth place in 2006 in the state math competition sponsored by the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Benet's Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is an American elementary, middle, or high school team competition which tests knowledge of various science topics and engineering ability. Over 6,200 teams from 49 U.S. states compete each year. Most teams compete in three levels of competition: regionals, states, and nationals...
team won second place in its division at the state tournaments in 2008 and 2010. In February 2010, the Law Club participated in its first mock trial
Mock trial
A Mock Trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting of volunteers as role players to test theories or...
, sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association
Illinois State Bar Association
The Illinois State Bar Association is the largest voluntary state bar association in the country. Approximately 30,000 lawyers are members of the ISBA. Unlike some state bar associations, in which membership is mandatory, ISBA membership is not required of lawyers licensed to practice in...
, which is expected to become an annual event.
Christmas Drive
The annual Christmas Drive takes place in December, during the two weeks prior to Christmas vacation. The fundraiser is a school-wide effort, jointly coordinated by Student Government, National Honor SocietyNational Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
, and the Outreach Society. The fundraising efforts are varied and creative; boys donate money to remain unshaven (otherwise a violation of school policy), the National Honor Society sells baked goods, the Mother's Club serves breakfast, and each class competes to gather the most pennies in the school-wide "penny wars". The Christmas Drive was featured in the cover story of the December 2010 issue of Christ is our Hope, the official magazine of the Diocese of Joliet. In the previous year the school had raised $54,500. The money was used to support a mission trip in Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
, and also to provide food, school supplies, blankets, and gifts to local families in the Chicago area. In 2010, the student body raised $66,200.
Notable alumni
Benet alumni include Olympic air rifleAir gun
An air gun is a rifle , pistol , or shotgun that fires projectiles by means of compressed air or other gas, in contrast to a firearm, which burns a propellant. Most air guns use metallic projectiles as ammunition. Air guns that only use plastic projectiles are classified as airsoft...
gold medalist Nancy Johnson
Nancy Johnson (sport shooter)
Nancy Johnson is an American sports shooter. She competed and won a gold medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics .-References:...
; National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
players Steve Baumgartner
Steve Baumgartner
Steven John Baumgartner is a former professional American football player who played defensive end for seven seasons for the New Orleans Saints and the Houston Oilers....
, Dan LeFevour
Dan LeFevour
Dan LeFevour is an American football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Central Michigan University...
, and Justin McCareins; professional boxer Mike Lee; and professional poker player and Positively Fifth Street
Positively Fifth Street
Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker is a memoir by Chicago area author James McManus set during the 2000 World Series of Poker....
author James McManus
James McManus
James "Jim" McManus is an American poker player, teacher and writer living in Kenilworth, Illinois.-Poker and Positively Fifth Street:...
.
Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
singer Dave Bickler
Dave Bickler
Dave Bickler is an American vocalist, best known as the lead singer for the rock band Survivor from 1977–1983. His distinctive vocal was featured on the #1 U.S. hit "Eye of the Tiger". In addition to his wide vocal range, his street-wise image included a trademark beret...
, former lead singer of the group Survivor
Survivor (band)
Survivor is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1978. The band achieved its greatest success in the 1980s with its AOR sound, which garnered many charting singles, especially in the United States. The band is best known for its double platinum-certified 1982 hit "Eye of the Tiger", the theme...
, and Diablo Cody
Diablo Cody
Brook Busey , better known by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American screenwriter, writer, blogger, journalist, and author. She was first known for her candid chronicling of her year as a stripper in her Pussy Ranch blog and her 2006 memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper...
, Oscar-winning screenwriter of Juno
Juno (film)
Juno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J. K....
, graduated from Benet, as did former Illinois Attorney General
Illinois Attorney General
The Illinois Attorney General is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by election through universal suffrage...
and gubernatorial
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
candidate Jim Ryan
Jim Ryan (politician)
James E. Ryan is an American politician who served two four-year terms as Illinois Attorney General. A career Republican, he received his party's nomination and ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Illinois against Rod Blagojevich in 2002. He has been a professor at Benedictine University since 2003...
.