Blanchet Catholic School (BCS) is a private Catholic

Catholicism

Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....

 high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 and middle school in Salem, Oregon

Salem, Oregon

Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

History

Blanchet was founded in 1995 after the tradition of two former Catholic secondary school

Secondary education in the United States

In most jurisdictions, secondary education in the United States refers to the last six or seven years of statutory formal education. Secondary education is generally split between junior high school or middle school, usually beginning with sixth or seventh grade , and high school, beginning with...

s in Salem, Sacred Heart Academy (1863 to 1984) and Serra Catholic (1954 to 1969). It serves grades 7–12, and serves 6th grade as of Fall 2009.

The school was named after Archbishop François Norbert Blanchet, the first Archbishop of the Oregon Territory

Oregon Territory

The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...

. The school operates by permission of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland

The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It encompasses the western part of the state of Oregon, from the summit of the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean...

, but is not owned by a religious order

Roman Catholic religious order

Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular ; monastics ; mendicants Catholic religious orders are, historically, a category of Catholic religious institutes.Subcategories are canons regular (canons and canonesses regular...

.

Academics

Blanchet has been accredited through Northwest Association of Accredited Schools

Northwest Association of Accredited Schools

The Northwest Accreditation Commission , formerly named the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools, is an organization based in Boise, Idaho which accredits a variety of schools, including K-12, elementary, middle, and high schools; schools offering distance education; non-degree-granting...

since 1995.