Cathedral High School (Springfield, Massachusetts)
Cathedral High School was a Catholic co-educational college-preparatory high school in Springfield, Massachusetts. Opened in 1883 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph at the diocese's Saint Michael's Cathedral, its last facility had been at 321 Main Street in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, after the destruction of Cathedral's Surrey Road campus by the June 1, 2011, tornado.

In 2015, it was announced that Cathedral High School would merge with Holyoke Catholic High School to form a new regional Catholic school that was completed in 2016 as Pope Francis High School.

History 
In 1883, the diocese's Bishop Patrick Thomas O'Reilly sought a teaching staff for a high school in response to the growing number of Catholic immigrants in the area.  Responding to the call, two members of the Sisters of St. Joseph from Flushing, New York came to Springfield to start up the school.  In the years that followed Cathedral High School flourished in facilities on Elliot Street in downtown Springfield. By the 1940s the school had grown to nearly 1600 students. The school had outgrown its facilities, so the Diocese purchased a 30-acre (121,000 m²) farm on Surrey and Wendover Roads in Springfield and built a new school.  It opened on September 9, 1959. In the first decade at Surrey Road student enrollment grew to more than 2600 students.

In 2002 the school was re-accredited by New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

In an effort to consolidate the Diocese's educational resources in the wake of increasing financial difficulties, Cathedral High School was selected to host the newly established St. Michael's Academy, which hosted students from Grades 6 to 8. From 2008 to 2009, Cathedral was extensively remodeled to accommodate the new facility, which occupied a full wing of the main school facility.

On June 1, 2011, Cathedral High School was severely damaged in the tornado that struck Springfield, Massachusetts. The building was declared a total loss. The students had finished the remainder of the 2010-2011 school year at Elms College, located in Chicopee, Massachusetts. The school had been based out of Memorial Elementary School in neighboring Wilbraham, Massachusetts since the 2011-2012 year. Demolition of the original Cathedral High School building was completed in 2015, with plans for a new facility under the name of Pope Francis High School having been approved for construction on the site at Surrey Road.

Campus 
The school's Surrey Road campus was in Springfield's East Forest Park Neighborhood on a green and hilly plot of land.  The school was divided into four main sections.  Most of the classrooms were in a building that, from the air, was shaped like a boxy eight with two courtyards in the open spaces formed by the eight.  A small chapel took up part of the first floor in one of the courtyards.  The school offices were near the main entrance, and the cafeteria extended towards the few athletic fields.

Extending north from the main building was the science wing.  Because of the hills the school was built in, the science wing's first and second floors were just above the main building's second and third floors.  The auditorium abutted the main building and was the largest high school auditorium in the area. On a lower grade than the rest of the school, were the gymnasium, a parking lot, and playing fields which included a full size football field that doubled as a soccer and lacrosse field.  Island Pond, on the eastern edge of the property, featured a rare floating island.

Students and faculty 
Throughout its history, Cathedral High School had predominantly served the students of the City of Springfield.  However, many of its students had come from the suburbs of the city and some as far away as Sunderland, Palmer, and Connecticut.  Being a Catholic school, a majority of its student had been Catholic.  However, that had never been a requirement for admission.  Before merging, the school has approximately 250 students.  70% of the students are from Springfield itself.

The school had 45 faculty members and administrators.  Most of the faculty had a master's degree.  Many had taught at the school for 20+ years.  For many years the faculty consisted of Sisters of St. Joseph and a small number of lay men and women. Today members of religious communities remain a vital part of the school community, but in significantly smaller numbers. Nearly all the teachers are full-time.

Cathedral High School also sponsored teachers who were in the  Providence Alliance for Catholic Teachers, or PACT program, part of the University Consortium for Catholic Education. Through this program, young teachers are given the chance to earn a master's degree in education from Providence College, while devoting two years of service to the school where they are assigned.  Before merging there was one teacher in the program at Cathedral and two graduates of the program taught at the school.

In recent years, the school had maintained an approximate 15:1 student/teacher ratio.  Some classes, particularly those that are compulsory, had a larger ratio.  Others, particularly electives, had a smaller ratio.

In 2004, the school welcomed its first lay principal.  With this, all Cathedral's academic leadership, including vice-principal, guidance director, business manager, librarians, and all department heads were lay people.

Cathedral High School is a college-preparatory program, where 96% of the graduates further their education. Members of the Class of 2009 attended Boston College, Boston University,  Fairfield University; Fordham University, College of the Holy Cross, Northeastern University, Bryant University, Providence College, Rochester Institute of Technology, St. Anselm's,  University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts, University of Rochester, The Elms College, Villanova University, The Catholic University of America, and others.

Curriculum 
Cathedral High School had religion, science, English, fine arts & business, social studies, foreign language, physical education and mathematics departments.

The school offered courses that challenged students at various skill levels in all grades in all the academic departments.  Within their respective departments, Cathedral offers classes in scripture, world religions, earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, journalism, computer literacy, art (painting, drawing, and sculpture), United States History, World History, sociology, Spanish, French, Latin, algebra, geometry, calculus, and statistics.  Many of these classes and others were available as college prep or honors.  Advanced Placements were available in English, Calculus, Statistics, US History, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Latin.

Sports 
As of the 2015-16 winter season, Cathedral High School students, along with Holyoke Catholic High School students, played sports as the Pope Francis High School Cardinals. The Cardinals have 39 sports teams at three competitive levels (varsity, JV and freshman).  Over the past 70 years Cathedral teams have won countless Western Massachusetts and state titles, including in football, soccer, cross country, basketball, hockey, indoor track and field, baseball, outdoor track and field and tennis.  The school's colors were purple and white. Cathedral's mascot was a Panther, and the squads were often referred to as the Purple Panthers.  
American football
Soccer
Cross Country Running
Golf
Field Hockey
Basketball
Ice hockey
Swimming
Indoor Track and Field
Lacrosse
Baseball
Softball
Outdoor Track and Field
Tennis

With the exception of Field Hockey and Football, all sports had both boys' and girls' teams.  Football, soccer, basketball, and baseball all had freshman, junior varsity, and varsity teams.  The others had JV and varsity teams. In recent years, the school was perhaps best known for its Ice Hockey team. The Panthers had the only Division 1 hockey program in Western Massachusetts.

Cathedral High School hockey won their first state championship in 1996 when they beat Hingham High School 2-0 in a thrilling Division 2 Championship Game.

In 2009, the Cathedral High School ice hockey team won the Division 1 State Championship for the first time since 2003, beating Arlington Catholic, the Division 1 North Champions, for the title.

Clubs 
Cathedral's clubs included several service groups, which organize events for the school and community. Some groups direct their efforts in volunteering (e.g. at a soup kitchen) or planning religious events, others organize dances and other activities.  One such group is the school's Saint Thomas Aquinas chapter of the National Honor Society.

Other groups include yearbook, the school newspaper, photography, language clubs, choir/band, lighting and sound, Red Cross, Amnesty International, pro-life clubs, adventure club, drama, and Model Senate.

Notable alumni

Scott Barnes - Drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 43rd round of the 2005 MLB June Amateur Draft and the San Francisco Giants in the 8th round of the 2008 MLB June Amateur Draft.
Angelo Bertelli - 1943 Heisman Trophy winner at Notre Dame
Wayne Budd - Former Assistant US Attorney General
Nick Buoniconti - NFL Hall of Fame Linebacker
Chris Capuano - MLB pitcher
Bill Danoff - Singer & Songwriter, Member of Starland Vocal Band, Wrote John Denver's "Country Roads"
Vinny Del Negro - NBA Point Guard from 1988–2001 and former Head Coach of the Los Angeles Clippers
Paul Fenton - Former NHL player and current Assistant General Manager of the Nashville Predators
Mike Flynn - Baltimore Ravens offensive linemen
Nick Gorneault - Former MLB player (Los Angeles Angels)
Derek Kellogg - University of Massachusetts Men's Basketball Head Coach
John Leonard - Professional ice hockey player
Tim Mayotte - Tennis Professional
Larry O'Brien - Advisor to President Kennedy, Postmaster General and NBA commissioner
Thomas Reilly - Former Massachusetts Attorney General
Joe Scibelli - 15-year veteran in the NFL as a guard for the LA Rams
Tommy Tallarico - American video game music composer and musician.
Peter Welch - Democratic Congressman from Vermont

References

External links
 

Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph
Catholic secondary schools in Massachusetts
High schools in Springfield, Massachusetts
Educational institutions established in 1883
1883 establishments in Massachusetts
Educational institutions disestablished in 2016
2016 disestablishments in Massachusetts