O'Connell College Preparatory School

29°17′49″N 94°47′26″W / 29.29694°N 94.79056°W / 29.29694; -94.79056InformationTypePrivate, CoeducationalReligious affiliation(s)ChristianDenominationRoman CatholicEstablished1967FounderUrsuline Academy

Founded 1847

Dominican High School

Founded 1882

Kirwin High School

Founded 1927

O'Connell High School

Founded 1968

O'Connell College Preparatory School

Founded 2007 - PresentSchool boardPresident

Mr. Wayne Mallia

Vice President

Mr. Trey Appffel

Members

Ms. Stephanie Doyle

Mr. John Cartwright

Ms. Tammy Jacobs

Fr. Jude EzumaOversightArchdiocese of Galveston-HoustonPrincipalMrs. Patti AbbottGrades9–12EnrollmentApprox. 125^[1] (2014)Student to teacher ratio15:1Color(s)Red and Black   Athletics conferenceTAPPSTeam nameBuccaneersAccreditationCatholic Schools Accreditation AgencyNewspaperThe O'ChronicleTuition$8,300Communities servedGalveston County, TexasFeeder schoolsHoly Family Catholic School, Our Lady of Fatima, True Cross Catholic, Ambassador Preparatory Academy, Mainland Preparatory Academy, Trinity EpiscopalAthletic DirectorMr. Derek MartinWebsitehttp://www.oconnellprep.com

O'Connell College Preparatory School (formerly O'Connell Consolidated High School) is a 4-year coeducational parochial/private high school in Galveston, Texas, United States that offers university-preparatory programs. It was founded in 1968 as a consolidation of Galveston Island's three existing Catholic high schools: Kirwin High School (Boys, founded in 1927) and Dominican High School (Girls, founded in 1882) and Ursuline Academy (Girls, founded in 1847) and is the only Roman Catholic high school in Galveston County.^[2]

History

In the fall of 1968, the religious orders operating the three schools agreed on consolidation as a means of continuing Catholic secondary education in Galveston, offering a broader curriculum than was possible in any of the three smaller high schools. Bishop John Morkovsky, S.T.D., approved the plan and appointed a board of trustees composed of laymen and priests representing all the parishes in Galveston County. The Board named the newly consolidated school after the Right Rev. Monsignor Daniel P. O’Connell, P.A., pastor of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Galveston from 1933 until his death in 1966, and a longtime supporter of Catholic education.^[3]

In 2003, after incurring many years of financial debt, Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza announced O’Connell High School would close at the end of the 2003-2004 school year.^{[citation needed]}

Archbishop Fiorenza offered to allow the school to remain open, if funding could be secured that would enable the school to operate without any subsidy from the archdiocese.^{[citation needed]}

In the spring of 2004 a plan was presented to the Archbishop in which a private foundation, the O’Connell Foundation, would be established with funds from alumni and others in the community. The foundation would offset any expenses previously covered by the archdiocese, as well as provide for the lease of the campus, which the Archbishop wanted to sell.^{[citation needed]}

Archbishop Fiorenza approved the plan and on July 1, 2004 the school was reopened as O’Connell Consolidated High School. In the spring of 2007, the school's board of trustees decided to rename the school O'Connell College Preparatory School, to help distinguish it from other local public and private schools of secondary education.^[2]

In 2013 O'Connell was awarded a 5 million dollar grant by the Moody Foundation. as reported in the Texas Catholic Herald on February 26, 2013.^[4]

In 2018 O'Connell's graduating class received over 1.6 million dollars in scholarship funding, breaking their current record.

See also

• Education in Galveston, Texas
• List of schools in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

References

External links

• O'Connell College Preparatory School
• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston