Christian Brothers Academy (Albany, New York)

Last updated
Christian Brothers Academy
CBA New.jpg
Christian Brothers Academy, 2009
Address
Christian Brothers Academy (Albany, New York)
12 Airline Drive

,
New York
12205
Coordinates 42°43′57″N73°49′14″W / 42.73250°N 73.82056°W / 42.73250; -73.82056
Information
Type Private, Day
MottoSignum Fidei
("Sign of Faith")
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic;
Christian Brothers
Patron saint(s)St. John Baptist de La Salle
Established1859
Founder Brothers of the Christian Schools
School districtIndependent
PresidentJames Schlegel
ChairpersonChristopher Scaringe
PrincipalCharles Abba
Staff64
Grades 5-12
Gender Boys
Enrollment570 (2023-2024)
CampusSuburban
Campus size126 acres (0.51 km2)
Color(s) Purple  &  Vegas gold 
SloganA Tradition of Excellence Since 1859
Athletics15 interscholastic sports: 35 individual teams
Athletics conferenceSection 2- Suburban Council
Team nameBrothers
Rival La Salle Institute
Accreditation Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools [1]
PublicationCBA Chronicles
NewspaperThe Sentry
Website www.cbaalbany.org

Christian Brothers Academy is a private, Catholic, college preparatory, junior and senior high school for boys founded in 1859 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers (See Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools). Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) is located in the town of Colonie, New York near the Albany International Airport on a 126-acre (0.51 km2) campus built in 1998. Christian Brothers Academy is independently run by a board of trustees.

Contents

History

In 1854, the Christian Brothers were invited to Albany by Bishop John McCloskey, to open an orphan asylum for boys. To help support the asylum, the Brothers began a pay school in 1859 in which eighty boys enrolled. Stagecoaches carried the boys from downtown to the school's rural location. After a few years, a separate building on Madison Avenue was secured. In 1869, the school was chartered by the University of the State of New York and a brass band was incorporated at the school. Over the next twenty years, the school outgrew its facilities several times. Each time, it relocated to a larger site. In 1882, the school moved to Lydius Street and in 1886, the Brothers purchased the former Albany Normal College at 43 Lodge Street from the State Education Department. Classes were conducted in this building for the next fifty-one years.

During 1892, military training was introduced and the Civil War Zouave uniform was adopted for the cadets. Enrollment at Lodge Street followed a pattern of ups and downs. Since the lack of a suitable campus did not help attract students, the building itself became a liability.

In 1935, the Brothers realized that the dilapidated structure, nearly a century old, could no longer support the school's necessary new programs. They began a movement to secure property and funds to erect a new, modern building. Through the interest of influential friends and alumni, city and county officials in 1937 made available to the Brothers a plot of land. Popular response to the fund drive was immediate and generous. Bishop Edmund Gibbons and Mayor John Boyd Thatcher II urged all citizens of Albany to contribute. Also in 1937, CBA was accredited as a military academy by the United States government. In 2012, the school's administration and the board of trustees made the decision to become a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) optional institution.

The De La Salle Road campus on University Heights, featuring the Georgian Colonial school building, was opened in September 1939 in time for the school's eightieth year. The gymnasium building was added in 1942, and the Brothers' residence in 1951. The old "Alm's House" building on the new University Heights campus, popularly called "the Armory", initially housed the rifle range in its basement, and the upper floors served as an arms room and a military classroom. In later years, a biology laboratory was added to the lower floor. One unique feature of the lab was the inclusion of small live animals, which were cared for by the students. Also in this building was "the Cage", which served as the locker room for the football and track programs. In 1951, the school added a seventh and eighth grade and in 1991, the school added a sixth grade.

Eventually, the De La Salle Road site was in need of updating and refurbishing. The University Heights Association, Inc., made an $8.4 million offer for the property and plans were made to move the school to the Town of Colonie. The new campus was erected with a price of $13.5 million. The new campus features a 75,000 square foot academic building along with a 9,000 square foot Christian Brothers residence. The new campus on Airline Drive incorporated current technological advancements into its design and structure. Multiple science labs, a technology center, as well as a lecture hall equipped with all the latest media tools, became available to faculty and students.

Since the new campus opened in 1998, the school's buildings and grounds have undergone extensive refurbishments to keep the campus updated and secure. These renovations included an expanded cafeteria, a second baseball field, and a new wing. This wing was part of the schools $5.2 million Capital Campaign that launched in 2015. The wing added a new professionally designed music room, a new STEM lab, and four additional classrooms to accommodate the school's growing enrollment. An additional 2-phase, $4 million Capital Campaign saw the addition of a multi-sport synthetic turf field in 2021, and an all-season athletic dome in 2023. The school now offers over 86,000 square feet of instructional and administrative spaces, and over 30 acres of dedicated athletic facilities.

CBA currently offers a college preparatory program for young men in grades 5 through 12. In 2016, the school's administration approved the addition of fifth grade to the school. CBA educates over 570 students in grades 5-12 from 49 school districts throughout the Capital Region.

Academics

In both the high school and the junior high school, there is an honors course of study available to qualified students. In the junior high, honors students in the eighth grade are permitted to study Algebra 1 and biology, which are course offerings at the ninth grade level. The high school program allows students to take honors level courses in all of the core disciplines (mathematics, science, social studies, English and foreign language) through a combination of Advanced Placement (AP) offerings and regularly scheduled courses.

The College Board offers the AP program to high schools as an opportunity for students to pursue advanced credit in specific disciplines. The school offers AP courses in Spanish V (also College in High School/"CHS"), statistics, calculus, biology, physics, chemistry, US history, world history, English literature and composition, English language and composition, and computer science. Students who wish to enroll in AP courses must meet all prerequisites for the Honors Program. Additionally, students enrolled in an AP course are required to sit for the AP exams scheduled in May, and to pay all necessary fees for the course.

Christian Brothers Academy also offers courses for college credit through local colleges and universities. The school offers Advertising I, Principles of Marketing, Accounting I, Advanced Algebra and Topics, Advanced Algebra, Music Theory, Advanced Computer Applications, and CMPT 115 (Introduction to Business Analytics with Microsoft Excel) through Hudson Valley Community College's "College in the High School" program. Through the University at Albany's "University in the High School" program, CBA offers Spanish V (which also can be taken for AP credit), Spanish IV, and pre-calculus.

Athletics

Christian Brothers Academy participates in athletics under the guidelines of Section II and the New York Public High School Athletic Association. Christian Brothers Academy formerly participated in the Big 10 athletic league until its disbanding in 2014. Christian Brothers Academy joined the Suburban Council in the 2015–2016 school year. CBA's athletics program is classified by Section II as a "Class AA" school, the highest classification in New York State.

CBA offers numerous athletic teams at the varsity, junior varsity, freshman, and modified levels. CYO basketball is also offered for the middle school.

Sports Offered
FallWinterSpring
FootballBasketballBaseball
GolfIce HockeyLacrosse
Cross CountryIndoor Track & FieldOutdoor Track & Field
SoccerBowlingTennis
VolleyballSwimming
Wrestling

Student population

Christian Brothers Academy Enrollment
School YearEnrollment
2017–2018553
2018–2019549
2019–2020540
2020–2021554
2021–2022560
2022–2023565
2023–2024570

CBA's students come from a large geographic area. As of the 2023–2024 school year, CBA has an enrollment of over 570 students who represent 49 different school districts. Approximately 1/4th of its students live in cities, and 3/4ths of its students come from suburban areas. Some travel upwards of 50 miles to be a part of the CBA community and the CBA tradition. As of September 2021, the four largest districts of residence by enrollment were Shenendehowa, South Colonie, North Colonie, and Albany. Students from these four districts make up at least half of the school's total enrollment.

Notable alumni

Campus locations

LocationYears
Western Turnpike1859-1862
Lydius Street1862-1868
Beaver Street1868-1877
Madison Avenue1877-1886
Lodge Street1886-1939
De La Salle Road1939-1998
Airline Drive1998–present

Accreditation

The school is accredited by the New York State Board of Regents, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, [1] and the high school JROTC program is designated as an "Honor Unit With Distinction" by the United States Department of the Army.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DeLaSalle High School (Minneapolis)</span> Private, coeducational school in Minneapolis, , Minnesota

DeLaSalle High School is a Catholic, college preparatory high school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is located on Nicollet Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academy of the Holy Names (Albany, New York)</span> Private, all-female school in Albany, , New York, United States

Academy of the Holy Names, or AHN, in Albany, New York, United States, is an independent, Middle States accredited Catholic girls' college-preparatory school for girls in grades 6–12. It is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. The school was founded in 1884 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. The mission of AHN is to prepare its students to become cultural, intellectual, moral, and spiritual leaders. Current enrollment for the 2021–2022 school year is 196 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albany High School (New York)</span> High school in Albany, New York

Albany High School (AHS) in Albany, New York, United States, is a public high school with an enrollment of about 2,600 students for the 2017–18 school year. The school is part of the City School District of Albany. It opened on September 7, 1868, as the Albany Free Academy. Albany High has been located at 700 Washington Avenue since 1974. The school is an International Baccalaureate school with an Advanced Placement program. The school newspaper is The Nest, the literary magazine is Inkblot, and the yearbook is Prisms.

Shaker High School, is a public high school in Latham, Albany County, New York, United States, and is the only high school operated by the North Colonie Central School District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bergen County Technical High School, Teterboro Campus</span> High school in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States

Bergen County Technical High School, also known as Bergen Tech (BT), is a four-year, tuition-free public magnet high school located in Teterboro, New Jersey serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Bergen Tech is part of the Bergen County Technical Schools, a countywide district that also includes Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, Applied Technology in Paramus, and Bergen Tech in Paramus. The school is nationally recognized, as students have the opportunity to be engaged in a technical major while fulfilling college preparatory classes and having the opportunity to take a wide variety of electives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academy of American Studies</span> Selective public high school in Long Island City, New York, United States

The Academy of American Studies is a public high school in Long Island City, Queens, New York, which was founded in 1996 by the New York City Board of Education and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. In June 2022, the school had approximately 1200 students;

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom High School (Orlando, Florida)</span> High school in Orlando, Florida

Freedom High School is located in Orlando, Florida. It is one of twenty public high schools in Orange County. The school was established in 2003 in order to relieve crowding at nearby Cypress Creek High School; like other relief high schools, they share a rivalry. It is a rivalry dubbed as the South Orange Classic. Freedom's feeder schools are Freedom Middle School, Hunter's Creek Middle School and West Ridge Middle School in Oak Ridge. The current principal is Mr. Charles France. It has nearly identical campus layouts as Olympia High School and Timber Creek High School. Lake Brantley High School in neighboring Seminole County has similar colors and nickname.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Salle Military Academy</span> School in Oakdale, Suffolk County, New York, United States

La Salle Military Academy was a Catholic school with middle school/junior high school and high school divisions located in Oakdale, New York. It closed in 2001, and the school's extensive campus is now owned by St. John's University, located in nearby Jamaica, Queens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool High School</span> Public school in Liverpool, New York, United States

Liverpool High School (LHS) is a comprehensive New York public high school located on Wetzel Road in Liverpool, northwest of the city of Syracuse in the Liverpool Central School District, serving ninth to twelfth grade students. It is the only high school within the district, and is the successor to Liverpool Middle School, Soule Road Middle School, Chestnut Hill Middle School, and Morgan Road Middle School. The school is governed under the authority of the New York State Education Department, whose standardized examinations are designed and administered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Brothers Academy (New Jersey)</span> Private school in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States

Christian Brothers Academy, located in the Lincroft section of Middletown Township, New Jersey, is a private, all-boys preparatory school for grades nine to twelve, with a focus on Christian education. The school is run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, founded by St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. Christian Brothers Academy was originally a farm owned by the prominent Whitney family of New York City, and home to their renowned Greentree Stable. The land was eventually given to the Christian Brothers for the purpose of teaching. The school opened for the first time in September 1959 and was blessed by the Bishop of Trenton on October 11, 1959. Christian Brothers Academy operates independently from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton and is governed by a board of trustees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edison Academy Magnet School</span> Magnet high school in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States

The Edison Academy Magnet School is a four-year career academy and college preparatory magnet public high school located on the campus of the Middlesex County College in Edison, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as part of the Middlesex County Magnet Schools. The school serves students from all over Middlesex County who are eligible to apply to their program of choice while in eighth grade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John's Jesuit High School and Academy</span> High school in Ohio, United States

St. John's Jesuit High School & Academy comprises two schools on the same campus: St. John's Jesuit High School (SJJ) and St. John's Jesuit Academy (SJJA). It is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo. Both are private, all-male Jesuit schools in Toledo, Ohio.

La Salle High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Union Gap, Washington. It is the only Catholic high school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yakima. The school's motto, Signum Fidei, is shared with other Lasallian schools around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Forest Academy</span> Private international boarding school in Germany

Black Forest Academy (BFA) is a private, Christian, coeducational, English-speaking boarding school serving grades 5 through 12. The school campus is located in Kandern, Germany. BFA houses students in several residence halls in Kandern and the surrounding villages. Boarding is only allowed for high school students, but students whose families live locally may attend BFA's middle school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ursuline School</span> Private, all-female school in New Rochelle, , New York, United States

The Ursuline School is an American all-girls', independent, private, Roman Catholic middle and high school located on a 13-acre (53,000 m2) campus in New Rochelle, New York, in Westchester County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John Villa Academy</span> Private, school in New York City , , New York, United States

St. John Villa Academy was a private, Roman Catholic School on Staten Island in New York, New York. Its senior high school was all girls, while the K-8 school was co-ed. The school was located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. St. John Villa Academy, owned and operated by the Sisters of St. John the Baptist, was located on the east shore of Staten Island, in the Arrochar neighborhood, overlooking the Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge and Lower New York Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy</span> High school in Union County, New Jersey, United States

Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Elizabeth, in Union County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of Elizabeth Public Schools. The academy accepts students in ninth through twelfth grades in Elizabeth who have passed the requirements for enrollment. The academy is operated by the Elizabeth Board of Education. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 2013. The school's college-preparatory curriculum prepares students for four-year colleges and universities.

Christian Brothers High School is a private, Catholic, college-preparatory high school in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento, California. It is located within the Diocese of Sacramento and was founded by the De La Salle Christian Brothers in 1876. As of 2021, the school enrolled 1,150 students drawn from approximately 75 local parochial, private, and public elementary and middle schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clovis North High School</span> Public school in Fresno, California, United States

Clovis North High School is a combination junior high school and high school sharing a common administration, campus, and teaching staff. It is located on the corner of Willow & International in Fresno, California, across the street from Clovis Community College Center. It is composed of Clovis North High School and Granite Ridge Intermediate.

References

  1. 1 2 MSA-CSS. "MSA-Commission on Secondary Schools". Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  2. Manning, James Hilton (1906). New York State Men: Biographic Studies and Character Portraits. Albany, NY: The Argus Company. p. 170 via Google Books.