Notre Dame College Prep | |
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We are men of faith, scholarship, and service.
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Address | |
7655 West Dempster Street Niles, Illinois 60714 United States |
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Coordinates | 42°02′19″N 87°49′04″W / 42.0386°N 87.8178°WCoordinates: 42°02′19″N 87°49′04″W / 42.0386°N 87.8178°W |
Information | |
Type | Private, All-Male |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Established | 1955 |
Founder | Congregation of Holy Cross |
Oversight | Archdiocese of Chicago |
President | Ralph Elwart |
Principal | Daniel Tully |
Teaching staff | 51 |
Grades | 9–12 |
Enrollment | 800 (2017) |
Campus size | 28 acres (110,000 m2) |
Color(s) | Green, White, and Blue |
Fight song | March of the Dons |
Athletics conference | East Suburban Catholic Conference |
Mascot | Harvey the Bull |
Team name | Dons |
Rival | St. Patrick High School |
Accreditation | North Central Association of Colleges and Schools |
Average ACT scores | 32.2 |
Newspaper | FOCUS |
Yearbook | Maridon |
Tuition | $11,500 |
Alumni | 12,000+ |
Website | http://www.nddons.org |
Notre Dame College Prep is a male-only Roman Catholic secondary school founded in Niles, Illinois in 1955 by the Congregation of Holy Cross. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. The school was built by Belli & Belli of Chicago.
Prior to 2008, Notre Dame College Prep was known as Notre Dame High School for Boys. Because is a common name for schools, this school is often confused with Peoria Notre Dame High School and Quincy Notre Dame High School, both of which are located in Illinois. Despite the similarity in name, this school is not affiliated with the Notre Dame High School for Girls, found in Chicago.
Notre Dame College Prep was one of the first Catholic high schools to open in the suburban Chicago area. It was opened at the request of the then Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago, Samuel Stritch, with the supervision of the Priests of the Congregation of Holy Cross.
The timing of the new school corresponded to the closing of the Congregation's school (Columbia Prep School) in Portland, Oregon. About half of the faculty came east from Portland to start the new school in Illinois. They also brought with them the old school's athletic uniforms, which necessitated the new school's colors to be the same as the Oregon school's (green and white). Even the old school's fight song was brought along, with appropriate new wording changes made by an early music teacher.
The original name of Notre Dame High School for Boys drew a connection between the Congregation's most noted local center of higher learning, the University of Notre Dame, and the Chicago area, which had given its support to the University and the congregation over many years. An excerpt from the Congregation's Province Review in 1954 noted:
For years the University (of Notre Dame) and the Community have been helped by a large group of loyal friends in the Chicago area. It is fitting that the first major high school work undertaken by our Province should be in Chicago. Many elements entered into the decision to accept this school, but one of the most sincere was the desire to express the Community’s gratitude to the Catholics of Chicago for their past support and friendship.