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History of
Seton |
History: A rich
tradition
Seton Catholic High School, like its namesake, St. Elizabeth Ann
Seton, has been blessed with intrinsic qualities that have allowed the
school to prosper while helping young men and women fulfill their
potential. Seton was founded in 1954 as a parish school serving the
youth of St. Mary’s Church in Chandler, Arizona. Beginning as a junior
high school, with 7th and 8th grades and a 9th-grade class of more
than 20 students in 1954, Seton Catholic graduated its first class of
seniors in 1958.
The original purpose of Seton Catholic was to provide a Catholic high
school education to the Catholic youth of Chandler, many from migrant
families or families otherwise engaged in the agricultural industry.
Staffed through the first several decades of its existence by members
of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Seton Catholic was named in
honor of their founder, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Over the years, Seton Catholic has evolved from a parish school, to a
diocesan school in 1973 operated under the supervision of the Diocese
of Phoenix. Its academic curriculum has evolved as well, from a set of
high school courses focusing as much on vocational skills as on
preparation for higher learning, to a curriculum designed to prepare
graduates for the continuation of their education at the
undergraduate, post-graduate and professional levels.
Seton Catholic has overcome a multitude of obstacles since its
founding, from financial woes, to periodic declines in enrollment, and
a devastating fire in 1980 that forced the school’s relocation to its
current site in 1983. Through it all, Seton Catholic has persevered
with the help and dedication of its religious and lay staff, its
students, parents, alumni, surrounding parishes, and the Diocese of
Phoenix.
Since the first class graduated in 1958, Seton Catholic’s alumni have
distinguished themselves academically and professionally. Many
graduates have gone on to careers in medicine, religious life,
broadcasting, law, education, government, and community service, to
name a few.
Seton Catholic Today – Living a
Legacy
From its humble beginnings in 1954, Seton Catholic has grown to its
present enrollment of 600 students. It provides a college preparatory
education with graduation requirements that meet or exceed college
entrance criteria. Academics are not the sole barometer of excellence
in our students. Our students excel in their spiritual, cultural,
moral, athletic and personal development – "the Seton experience." As
Seton has grown, our community has made the commitment to maintain and
even strengthen the bonds that have been part of our heritage. In the
words of one of our Seton students, they are truly "living a legacy"
each and every day. You can sense the feeling of pride when a recent
graduate wants to share their Seton experience with incoming freshmen.
No longer a school operated by and for a single parish, Seton Catholic
now serves young men and women from 24 parishes, primarily in the
communities of Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert and Guadalupe. Its
student body also includes students from Phoenix, Scottsdale, Queen
Creek, Apache Junction, Casa Grande and the Gila River Indian
Community. This unprecedented growth has largely accelerated during
the past ten years. As the only Catholic High School serving the East
Valley communities of the Phoenix metropolitan area, Seton Catholic’s
current capacity is far exceeded by the growing demand for admissions.
And that demand increases dramatically each year.
Seton Catholic is accredited by the North Central Association of
Colleges and Secondary Schools, as well as the Western Catholic
Education Association. Approximately ninety-eight percent (98%) of
Seton Catholic’s graduates continue their education at the university
level. Last year, forty percent of Seton’s graduates received
scholarships, totaling more than 2.75 million dollars. Many Seton
graduates begin with college credits already earned through Seton’s
advanced placement courses.
Each year, the student body includes several National Merit Finalists.
The average test scores for Seton Catholic graduates consistently
exceed the overall average scores of college-bound Arizona students.
In addition to its strong emphasis on academics, Seton Catholic
provides its students a broad array of athletic activities. Seton’s
athletes and athletic teams have distinguished themselves in the
sports of football, softball, baseball, boys’ and girls’ basketball,
volleyball, wrestling, boys’ and girls’ soccer, track, cross-country,
tennis, swimming and golf. Extracurricular activities include:
Academic Decathlon, Classroom Without Walls; Close Up, Eucharistic
Ministers, Kairos, Literary Magazine, Mock Trial, National Honor
Society, Pep Band, Retreat Team, SADD, Sentinel Ambassadors,
Speech/Debate Team, Yearbook and various clubs, such as Athletic
Trainer, Chess, Cultural Awareness, Drama. French, Hiking, Latin,
Spanish, Roller Hockey, Science and Journalism.
In its current location on Dobson Road, just north of Ray Road, in
Chandler, Seton Catholic occupies just 19 acres. Its facilities
include 23 classrooms a cafeteria, a small library and media center,
and a chapel. Athletic facilities consist of a gymnasium and football,
softball and baseball fields. With its enrollment of 579 students, the
school is at full capacity.
The communities served by Seton Catholic referenced earlier have
experienced explosive growth. For example, between 1990 and 2000, the
population of Chandler grew by more than 86,000, an increase of 95 %.
During the same decade, the population of Gilbert grew by 80,000, an
astounding increase of 275%. These growth rates have placed Gilbert as
the fastest growing city in the United States (based on cities with
populations in excess of 100,000) and Chandler is ranked as the 7th
fastest growing city in the country. Amazingly, this growth is
projected to continue.
The Catholic population of the East Valley has grown exponentially as
well. And with that growth has come increased demand for access to
Catholic education. The five Catholic elementary schools that feed
Seton are filled to capacity. A new Catholic elementary school in the
East Valley, St. John Bosco, opened this fall and will graduate its
first class in May of 2002. It is estimated that approximately thirty
(30) of those students will seek admission to Seton Catholic in the
fall of 2002. In addition, St. Timothy’s Catholic Community in Mesa
has recently opened its own elementary school.
Although Seton Catholic has added facilities and more than doubled its
enrollment since 1990 to respond to this explosive growth in demand,
it still has waiting lists of students seeking admission. Nearly 30%
of all applicants are turned away each year because of space
limitations. In the fall of 2001 we added two temporary classrooms in
order to accommodate the enrollment.
Our vision is to be able to gradually increase enrollment to a maximum
of 1,000 students over the next ten years by constructing new
buildings and remodeling current buildings to meet the academic needs
of a growing community. Seton Catholic must continue to provide
advance placement and honors courses to its growing student body. Not
only is there an increase in the number of students seeking admission
to Seton, but also a thirst for expanded academic offerings. We must
improve our technology resources, and expand our athletic facilities.
And to be able to live the gospel challenge, we need a place for all
students to come together to worship.
Future growth must emphasize the sense of community, the feeling of
family, and the strong Catholic values that have always been a part of
the Seton experience. We must ensure that the reasons families have
chosen Seton Catholic High School over the years continue to be the
hallmark reasons in the future. We will strive to maintain the
intangible benefits that exist in a small Catholic school environment.
We must be true to our original mission and help serve the many
families that hunger for a Catholic education for their children.
It is time to ensure that the Seton experience will be accessible for
Seton Growth generations to come. It is time to be visionary about the
needs for the future. This is increasingly difficult as the "future"
seems to be racing into "today." Our plan for growth as you will see
is not just about bricks and mortar. Not just about buildings, square
footage and parking lots. It is about adequate facilities for
learning. It is about a place to worship as a community. It is about
preparing scholars that will become tomorrow’s Catholic leaders. It is
about pride in our school and what it offers. It is all about
continuing to live the gospel challenge and living a legacy each and
every day. |
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