Colegio Ponceño is a Roman Catholic, Piarist, pre K-12

K-12

K–12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where P–12 is also commonly used...

 preparatory school located in Ponce

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...

, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

. The institution "has been recognized by the College Board

College Board

The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...

 as the best among public and private schools in Puerto Rico during the last 14 years." It has been regarded as the "most prestigious private school in the city [of Ponce]."

History

The school was founded in 1926 as Colegio Ponceño de Varones, by Miss Maria Serra Gelabert, a Catholic laywoman and catechist, as a boys-only Catholic school sponsored by the Bishop of Ponce, Msgr. Edwin Vincent Byrne

Edwin Byrne

Edwin Vincent Byrne was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served in Puerto Rico, as Bishop of Ponce and Bishop of San Juan , before returning to the United States as Archbishop of Santa Fe .-Biography:Edwin Byrne was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Francis Charles and Anna...

. It was located on a rented house on Calle Comercio. It later moved to its own facility on Calle Aurora, and in 1974 it moved to its current facility on PR-14.

From 1930 to 1968 the school was directed by the Marianist Brothers

Society of Mary (Marianists)

The Society of Mary, a Roman Catholic Marian Society, is a congregation of brothers and priests called The Marianists or Marianist Brothers and Priests. The Society was founded by Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, a priest who survived the anti-clerical persecution during the French Revolution. ...

. In 1968 the Piarist Fathers

Piarists

The Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools or, in short, Piarists , is the name of the oldest Catholic educational order also known as the Scolopi, Escolapios or Poor Clerics of the Mother of God...

 (Padres Escolapios) took over its administration, called by Msgr. Juan Fremiot Torres Oliver, Bishop of Ponce.
Under the Piarist administration the school's name was changed to "Colegio Ponceño" upon becoming a coed school in 1973. As a Piarist school, Colegio Ponceño follows the Catholic educational philosophy of Saint Joseph Calasanz and is administered by the Piarist Fathers Province of the United States and Puerto Rico. The school is owned by a Parent's Board of Trustees founded by the Bishop of Ponce.

Location

The school was originally located on Luna Street in downtown Ponce. In 1973 it moved to its new facilities on PR-14. It is now located in Barrio Coto Laurel

Coto Laurel

Coto Laurel is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Anón, Marueño, Guaraguao, Quebrada Limon, Real, and San Patricio, and the coastal barrios of Canas and Capitanejo, Coto Laurel is one of the municipality's nine bordering barrios...

 in Ponce, where it boasts one of the largest campuses and most modern school facilities in the Island.

Accreditation

Colegio Ponceño is accredited by the Puerto Rico Department of Education and by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association dedicated to educational excellence and improvement through peer evaluation and accreditation...

. It is a permanent member of the College Board, serving as test center for the ATP of the College Board. It was recognized in 1991 & 1992 as a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School.

Mission

Since its establishment, the school has upheld high Catholic pedagogical standards and excelled in preparing students for higher education, both in Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland. In every graduating senior class, Colegio Ponceño has consistently produced students who have gone on to become successful professionals in the areas of medicine, law, engineering, and business. Among its alumni are many outstanding civic, political, sports, and religious leaders in Puerto Rican society.

Trivia

The school mascot is a Crusader ("El Cruzado") and the school main holidays are the feasts of Our Lady of the Pillar and of Saint Joseph Calasanz. The school colors are purple and gold ("Púrpura y Oro").

External links

• Copin.net Colegio Ponceño's website (in Spanish)
• Colegio Ponceño in 1940