Mendel Catholic High School

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Mendel Catholic High School
Front of Mendel Catholic.png
The front entrance of Mendel in 1962
Address
Mendel Catholic High School
250 E. 111th Street

Chicago
,
Illinois
60628

United States
Coordinates 41°41′38″N87°36′57″W / 41.6940°N 87.6159°W / 41.6940; -87.6159
Information
Other names
  • Gregory Mendel Catholic High School
  • Mendel Catholic College Preparatory High School
Religious affiliation(s) Order of Saint Augustine
Established1951 (1951)
StatusClosed
Closed1988 (1988)
Grades9–12
GenderBoys
Campus size40 acre [1]
Nickname Monarchs
Communities served Roseland, Chicago
Overhead view of Mendel Catholic High School.png
An overhead view in 1962

Mendel Catholic High School was a Catholic, college-preparatory high school for boys in the Roseland neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Named for famed Augustinian scientist Gregor Mendel, it operated from 1951 to 1988.

Contents

Its campus has served four schools since 1905. It was first the private Pullman Manual Training School, for the nearby Pullman works. It was acquired by the Order of Saint Augustine and became Mendel Catholic, before the Archdiocese of Chicago merged several schools into it and it was named St. Martin dePorres High School. Since 1998, the building has been the home of the Chicago Public Schools' Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy.

History

The Order of Saint Augustine purchased the buildings of the former Pullman Free School of Manual Training in the fall of 1950. Gregory Mendel Catholic High School was established in September 1951 in the Pullman School's former buildings. It started with a freshman class of 360 students. The school was named for Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian priest and father of modern genetics. [2] [3] Construction on a gym, chapel, and monastery began in March 1953. By the beginning of the 1953–1954 school year, 900 students were enrolled with 127 on the waiting list. [4]

In 1967, Black students threatened a walkout of the school to protest racial slurs, lack of Black representation in the student senate, and lack of Black history in the school's curriculum. The walkout was called off after discussion with Fr. George Clements, an African-American [5] priest of a nearby St. Dorothy's Parish. [6] [7]

Robert Prevost—the future Pope Leo XIV —occasionally taught math part-time at the school during his time at Catholic Theological Union. His mother, Millie, worked as a librarian. His older brothers attended the school. [8]

In 1975, the school began to host weekly house dances, averaging around 1,000 students in attendance. As the school began to suffer from declining enrollment due to white flight, the dances generated $15 million in revenue for the school. [1] [9]

At the end of the 1988 school year, Mendel consolidated with Unity Catholic High School and Willibrord Catholic High School to form St. Martin dePorres High School. [10] The combined school continued to operate on the Mendel campus until its closing in 1997. [11]

Closure and future

The Archdiocese of Chicago sold the school to Chicago Public Schools for $2.8 million ($5.48 million in 2024) [12] In 1998, the school reopened as Southside College Preparatory Academy, [12] which changed its name to Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy in 2001. [13] [14]

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 Powell, Duane (January 27, 2022). "Catholic school house". Chicago Reader. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Will Welcome Leader of New Mendel School". Chicago Tribune. April 22, 1951. p. 16SW. Retrieved May 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Dedicate New Catholic Boys High Tomorrow". Chicago Tribune. October 11, 1951. p. 2. Retrieved May 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Mendel Catholic High To Open Its Third Year" . Chicago South End Reporter. Vol. 60, no. 45. August 19, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  5. ↑ "U.S. Negro Priests Set First Meeting". Chicago Tribune. April 3, 1968. p. 46. Retrieved May 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Negroes Decide Against Walkout". The St. Louis Review. Vol. 27, no. 49. December 8, 1967. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Negro Pupils Avoid Protest". The Catholic Transcript. Vol. 70, no. 33. December 8, 1967. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Rumore, Kori (May 9, 2025). "From Chicago's south suburbs to helping choose the next pope". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  9. ↑ Warren, Emma (2023). Dance your way home: A journey through the dancefloor. London: Faber & Faber. ISBN   978-0571366033 . Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  10. ↑ Modrowski, Roman (March 6, 1988). "DeSales uses stone-wall 'D' for victory". The Times. p. B1. Retrieved May 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "St. Martin High Closing Its Doors". Chicago Tribune. April 11, 1997. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  12. 1 2 Stevens, Susan (September 4, 1997). "College prep school to open on the South Side". The Times. p. B1, B2 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Gross, Lexy (February 19, 2015). "School where Obama to speak has Pullman history". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Board Action 01-0328-MS1" (PDF). Chicago Board of Education. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Senate Resolution 0128". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Greg Smith Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  17. ↑ "11th Round of the 1967 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  18. ↑ "HR0617 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY". ilga.gov. Illinois General Assembly. 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
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