Providence St. Mel School

Providence St. Mel
Address
119 South Central Park Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60624
United States
Information
Type Private, Coeducational
Founder Paul J. Adams III
President Jeanette M. Butala
Grades Pre-K12
Color(s) Purple and gold         
Slogan Work Plan Build Dream
Mascot Knights
Website http://www.psmnow.com

Providence St. Mel School (PSM) is a private, coeducational PreK-12 school in East Garfield Park, Chicago, Illinois.[1] Since 1978, 100 percent of its seniors have been accepted to 4 year colleges. in 2015 100% of graduating students were accepted to Tier One or Ivy League colleges.

History

The school was created in 1969 with the merger of two schools, Providence High School and St. Mel High School. In 1978 the Archdiocese of Chicago tried to close down the school by withdrawing its support. The administrators of the school and community members were determined to operate the school on its own, without the support of the Archdiocese, so principal Paul J. Adams met with Sister Loretta Schafer, general superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. The Sisters had founded Providence High School in the 1930s under Mother Mary Raphael Slattery and still owned the Providence-St. Mel property, which Schafer transferred to Adams free of charge.[2]

Today, Providence St. Mel is home to more than 600 students from all walks of life. Since 1978, 100 percent of its seniors have been accepted to college.

In 1982 and 1983, President Ronald Reagan visited Providence St. Mel School to acknowledge its noteworthy achievements. In 1993, Oprah Winfrey donated $1,000,000 to Providence-St. Mel.[3]

The October 2006 issue of Chicago magazine, ranked Providence St. Mel as one of the most outstanding elementary schools in the metropolitan Area. Providence-St. Mel earned a place on the Chicago magazine "A+ Team," the list of select 115 public and 25 private elementary and middle schools.

Distinguished Concerts International New York City (DCINY) announced January 9, 2015 that Dr. David Baar and the Providence St. Mel School Choir were invited to participate in a world premiere performance of Earnestine Rodgers Robinson’s Exodus on the DCINY Concert Series in New York City. These outstanding musicians joined with other choristers to form the Distinguished Concerts Singers International, a choir of distinction. Earnestine Rodgers Robinson was present as composer-in-residence with DCINY’s Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Jonathan Griffith as conductor of the performance and clinician for the residency.

Dr. Jonathan Griffith, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for DCINY states:

The Providence St. Mel School choir received this invitation because of the quality and high level of musicianship demonstrated by the singers as well as the exceptional quality of their audition recording. It is quite an honor just to be invited to perform in New York. These wonderful musicians not only represent a high quality of music and education, but they also become ambassadors for the entire community. This is an event of extreme pride for everybody and deserving of the community’s recognition and support.

Timeline

Notable alumni

References

  1. "Contact." Providence St. Mel School. Retrieved on April 16, 2011. "Providence St. Mel 119 South Central Park Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60624"
  2. Hendryx, William M. "A School That Wouldn't Die" (PDF). Readers Digest. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
  3. History psm.k12.il.us
  4. "Linton Johnson". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
  5. "BERNIE LEAHY". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
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