St. Joseph's Preparatory School

St. Joseph's Preparatory School
Address
1733 West Girard Avenue

Philadelphia
,
Pennsylvania
19130

United States
Coordinates 39°58′21″N 75°9′53″W
Information
Type Private, All-boys college-preparatory educational institution
Motto (Latin): Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam
(For the greater glory of God)
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic (Jesuit)
Patron saint(s) Saint Joseph
Established 1851
Oversight Society of Jesus
President John F. Marinacci
Principal Andrew T. Cavacos
Grades 9–12
Gender Boys
Enrollment 904
Campus size 6.5 acres (2.6 ha)
Campus type Urban
Color(s) Crimson and Gray    
Slogan Educating Men of Competence, Conscience & Compassion since 1851
Song Swing on Along With the Crimson
Athletics conference Philadelphia Catholic League
PIAA USRowing
Nickname Hawks
Accreditation Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Publication Chronicle (literary magazine)
Newspaper The Hawkeye
Tuition $25,600 (2022-2023)
Website www.sjprep.org

St. Joseph's Preparatory School, known as "St. Joseph's Prep" or simply "The Prep", is an urban, private, Catholic, college preparatory school run by the Jesuits in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The school was founded in 1851 from the Old St. Joseph's Church in the city's Society Hill neighborhood. The school moved to its current campus on Girard Avenue in the 1870s with the construction of the Church of the Gesu.

Curriculum

The credits must satisfy the minimums in religious studies (4), English (4), mathematics / computer science (4), history (3), science (3), classics & modern language (5), fine arts (1), electives (2). A minimum of two of the language credits must be in classics.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

St. Joseph's Prep's athletic teams compete as one of the 16 schools in the Philadelphia Catholic League. The Prep joined the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association in the 2007–2008 school year. The Prep offers the following athletic programs:

Fall: cross country, football (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen), crew (varsity and junior varsity), rugby, soccer (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen), squash (varsity and junior varsity), Ultimate Frisbee (club), and golf.

Winter: basketball (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen), bowling (varsity and junior varsity), indoor track and field, swimming, wrestling (varsity and junior varsity), and ice hockey (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen).

Spring: baseball (varsity, junior varsity, and freshman), crew (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen), volleyball, lacrosse, outdoor track and field, tennis, Ultimate Frisbee (club), and rugby (varsity, junior varsity, freshmen/sophomore). The boys senior eight crew team has won the Stotesbury Cup in national competition 14 times; in 1955, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1999–2001, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2019, 2021 and 2023. In 2000, the Prep Varsity 8 won the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta. In 2021, St. Joseph's Prep won the USRowing Youth National Championship in the Men's 8+ for the first time. This was the first time a scholastic team won the national championship in over a decade.

The Prep football team won back-to-back state championships, winning the Class 4A state championship in 2014 with a 49–41 win against Pine-Richland High School in the finals. Despite losing to La Salle College High School early in the 2015 playoffs, the St. Joseph's Prep football team won the first ever Class 6A PIAA state championship, defeating Pittsburgh Central Catholic by a score of 42–7 at HersheyPark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The team won the program's fourth state title in 2018 with a 40–20 win against Harrisburg High School in the Class 6A tournament final.

Notable alumni

Academia and education

Authors and writers

Business

Catholic Church

Entertainment

Engineering

Government and politics

Military

  • Navy Rear Admiral Joseph F. Kilkenny (Class of 1973), commander, U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group 10 and Naval Recruiting Command
  • Army Major Brian J. Reed (Class of 1985), operations officer, Fourth Infantry Division's First Brigade Combat Team; planner for Operation Red Dawn; member of the University of Maryland's Center for Research on Military Organization

Sports

See also