St. Benedict's Preparatory School is a Catholic college preparatory school in Newark, New Jersey run by the Benedictines. The school serves boys and girls in kindergarten through twelfth grade on a urban campus. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1990. History Established in 1868 by the Benedictine monks of Newark Abbey, the school is guided by the sixth century Rule of Saint Benedict. It has been a located in the Archdiocese of Newark for more than 130 years. As of the 2017–18 school year, the school had an enrollment of 749 students and 48.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 15.4:1. The school's student body was 55.1% (413) Black, 29.8% (223) Hispanic, 7.1% (53) two or more races, 6.4% (48) White and 1.5% (11) Asian. The school serves students from Newark and its neighboring communities; students come from 100 towns and approximately 215 schools. More than 60 are from 23 other countries. Starting in the 2017–18 school year, the former St. Mary School began operating within St. Benedict's. Classes for kindergarten through sixth grade are co-ed and grades 7 and 8 are segregated by gender, while the high school program remains all boys. The school was closed for the 1972–73 school year. Since its re-opening in 1973, the headmaster has been Fr. Edwin D. Leahy, O.S.B, who was graduated from St. Benedict's in 1963. High school academic year and leadership St. Benedict's school year differs from most high schools. The school year is divided into three "phases"; Summer phase, Fall-Winter phase, and Spring phase. During Summer phase the whole student body of St. Benedict's gathers for a five-week session of half-day classes during August. For the members of the Freshman class, the session begins with the five-day overnight. The Freshman class is divided into 18 groups of approximately eight students each, with an older student acting as counselor for the week, preferably a sophomore or junior student. Meals are taken "family style" in the dining room, as students taking turns being the waiters for their designated group, setting the table, serving the food, and clearing up afterward. Freshmen meet faculty members and older students, discover Benedict's history and traditions and learn the school songs. At the end of the week the students will be quizzed verbally on the school's history