La Salle College High School

MascotExplorerTeam nameExplorersRivalSt. Joseph's Preparatory SchoolAccreditationMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools^[2]National rankingBest Catholic High Schools in the US No. 123 of 1,144PublicationThe Gazebo (literary magazine)NewspaperThe WisterianYearbookBlue and GoldSchool fees$460–$11,180^[3]Tuition$27,500 (2024-2025)^[3]Feeder toLa Salle UniversityWebsitewww.lschs.org

La Salle College High School is a Catholic, all-male college preparatory school located in Wyndmoor, a community in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. La Salle is within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and is located roughly 10 miles northwest of Center City. The school is staffed by a lay faculty and the Christian Brothers. Its sports teams compete in the Philadelphia Catholic League and the PIAA’s twelfth district.

History

La Salle began in 1858 at St. Michael's School at 2nd and Jefferson Streets in the West Kensington section of Philadelphia. Initially the Select School, it was soon renamed the Christian Brothers Academy. In 1863, it became the preparatory school to La Salle College (now La Salle University). The prep school and college shared the same campus for nearly a century, moving once in 1867 to Juniper and Filbert Streets in the heart of Center City and again in 1882 to the mansion of Michael Bouvier, a prominent Philadelphia banker, located on North Broad Street near Girard Avenue. In 1929, La Salle moved to the university’s present campus in the Logan section of upper North Philadelphia. In 1960, the preparatory school moved to the former Belcroft Estate of Clarence E. Brown. In 1982, they formally became two separate institutions, with the high school forming its own board of trustees.^[4]

Facilities

La Salle is situated on an 84-acre campus. The grounds include the school building, which contains a cafeteria, gymnasium, auditorium, student center, the Marian Chapel, a central courtyard, and a meadow featuring a grotto adorned by a shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes. Next to the school is the Christian Brothers' residence, a cottage built in 1927. The campus also includes seven athletic fields, tennis courts, and a four-lane swimming pool.

Curriculum

The credits must satisfy the minimums in religion (4), English (4), mathematics (3), science (3), history & political science (3), world languages (3), physical education & health (1), innovation & design (1), and fine arts (.5). There are a variety of elective courses offered in core subjects as well as social science, innovation & design, visual art, and music. Students must have a minimum of 28 credits to graduate and are required to carry seven each year.^[5]

Extracurricular activities

Arts

La Salle's band program consists of several bands, including the pep band, pit orchestra, jazz band, and the competition band, which features 20 musicians who compete at local and regional competitions each year. The choral program consists of a general chorus and a select ensemble called The Belcrofters. Both the band and choral programs perform two individual annual concerts in the fall and spring. Band and Chorus are scheduled classes, and private instruction is available for voice and various instruments.

Each year, La Salle's theatre program performs two productions in the fall and spring. The fall production is a collection of student-penned one-act plays while the spring production is a fully staged two-act musical.

Athletics

La Salle is a founding member of the Philadelphia Catholic League and has competed in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association since 2009. It is the only school to have won a PCL Championship in every sport, capturing 271 PCL titles, the most among any school competing in the league.^[6]

La Salle fields 47 athletics teams in 19 different sports, including baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, hockey, lacrosse, rowing, rugby sevens and fifteens, soccer, squash, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. La Salle's student body boasts 339 multi-sport athletes, 108 AP Scholar-Athletes, and a 71% participation rate in athletics.^[7]

Clubs

La Salle sponsors over 50 student clubs in areas including academia, the arts, intramural athletics, business, culture and language, media publications, service, and special interests. Over 85% of the student body is part of at least one club or activity.^[8]

The David Program

The David Program, named in honor of Brother David Albert and Mr. David Diehl, is an additional academic support service for a limited number of college bound students with documented mild learning disabilities. Students who participate in the David Program have a scheduled period each day that focuses on developing strategies for academic success and empowering the learner. The program is centered around cultivating problem solving, study, organizational, and self advocacy skills. The David Program's student-to-teacher ratio is 2:1.

The David Program is a support service for an additional fee with limited openings each year. As of 2023, construction of an addition to the main school building is underway to expand the program. ^[9]

Notable alumni

• J. Burrwood Daly (1890) US Congressman
• Gus Cifelli (1943) Michigan district court judge and NFL offensive tackle
• James J. A. Gallagher (194?), member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives^[10]
• Paul Arizin (1946) member of Basketball Hall of Fame
• Jim Phelan (1947) member of College Basketball Hall of Fame^[11]
• Dick Bedesem (1949) College football coach^[12]
• Tom Gola (1951) |member of Basketball Hall of Fame
• Robert John Brinker (1959) financial advisor and syndicated financial radio show Moneytalk
• John Lehman, Jr. (1960) |Secretary of the Navy (1981–87) and member of 9/11 Commission
• Chris Matthews (1963) television commentator on Hardball, syndicated columnist
• Michael McGinniss (1965) president of La Salle University
• Chuck Zapiec (1967) PA Sports Hall of Fame, Penn State All-American linebacker, pro football player
• Leonard Bosack (1969) founder of Cisco Systems
• Jack Bauerle (1970) U.S. Olympic and University of Georgia women's swim coach^[13]
• Brig. Gen. Joseph J. McMenamin (1970) Assistant Division Commander, 2nd Marine Division
• Steve Javie (1972) NBA referee
• Joe Mihalich (1974) Head Coach, Hofstra Men's Basketball^[14]
• George T. Kenney (1975) former member of Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 170th district
• Joe Webster (1976) Member of Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 150th district^[15]
• Fran McCaffery (1977) Head Coach, Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team^[16]
• John Waldron (1977) American criminal defense lawyer
• John Schmitt (1980) senior economist, Center for Economic and Policy Research
• Hugh Panaro (1982) Broadway actor, Les Misérables, The Phantom of The Opera
• Michael J. Stack III (1982) Former Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
• George Winslow (1982) Professional football punter^[17]
• Jim Poole (1984) relief pitcher for Philadelphia Phillies
• Tom Gizzi (1985) football player
• Charles McIlhinney (1985) Pennsylvania State Senator^[18]
• John Butler (1991) Defensive backs coach for the Buffalo Bills^[19]
• Sean McDermott (1993) head coach of NFL's Buffalo Bills
• Gregory Michael Hosmer (1999) actor, As the World Turns, Greek, How I Met Your Mother
• Anthony Green (2001) Musician, Circa Survive
• Tucker Durkin (2009) professional lacrosse player
• Joe McKeehen (2009) 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event winner^[20]
• Tyler Nase (2009) Olympic Rower^[21]
• Darius Madison (2012) Professional Soccer Player^[22]
• Matt Rambo (2013) Professional lacrosse player, recipient of the 2017 Tewaaraton Award^[23]
• Ryan Winslow (2013) Professional football punter^[24]
• Zaire Franklin (2014) Linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts^[25]
• Kyle Shurmur (2015) Professional football quarterback. Offensive Quality Assistant Coach, Buffalo Bills^[26]
• Jimmy Morrissey (2016) Professional football player
• Andrew Cossetti (2018) Professional baseball player^[27]

References