Essex Catholic High School

Essex Catholic High School was a four-year Catholic high school located in Newark and East Orange, New Jersey. Essex Catholic High School opened in 1957. It was an all boys Catholic High School run by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. It was located at 300 Broadway in the City of Newark.

In the Fall of 1980, the school was moved to East Orange. It took over the location of the closed East Orange Catholic High School. It remained open at that location until June 2003 when it closed due to a lack of enrollment.

The school was supported in its early years by the efforts of the Most Reverend Thomas A. Boland, the Archbishop of Newark. In 2003, Archbishop John J. Myers agreed to close the school when the student enrollment hit record lows.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E1DD113CF935A35756C0A9659C8B63 "Newark Archdiocese to Close a High School"] , "The New York Times", May 6, 2003. Accessed October 23, 2007.]

At its peak, the enrollment hovered around 2,600. At its low point the average was around 300 students.

The 300 Broadway location was the massive former corporate headquarters of the Mutual Benefit Insurance Company. The area surrounding the school went into a sharp decline following the 1967 Newark riots. The situation was further complicated by an increase in tuition in the Spring of 1970 that doubled the $300 annual cost to $600 per student.

The tuition increase was phased in over a period of three school years. The Class of 1971 went from $300.00 in 1970 to $400.00 in 1971. The Class of 1972 went from $300.00 in 1970 to $500.00 in 1971 and the Classes of 1973 and beyond were charged the full $600.00.

The building was sold by the archdiocese to a private group who later opened a nursing facility at the Newark location.

Following the formal closing of the school in 2003, a small group of alumni and supporters attempted to reopen a "new" Essex Catholic High School at a different location. That school has also ceased to operate.

Small groups of dedicated alumni still gather to celebrate the memory of what once was a great school.

In the Fall of 2007 a dinner was held at the 300 Broadway location to celebrate the 50 years since the founding of the school in 1957. Many former students and faculty attended.

In the Late Winter of 1975 the Essex Catholic Auditorium was gutted by a fire during the rehearsal for the Spring production of "The Music Man". After a quick clean up, the show went on - a bit later than planned.

Notable alumni

*Steve Adubato Jr. - television personality, host of One on One with Steve Adubato
*Rick Cerone - former Major League Baseball catcher who player for the New York Yankees. [Gramlich, Barry. [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-22678880.html "PASSAIC DROPS A HAMMER ON BC"] , "The Record (Bergen County)", October 3, 1993. Accessed October 23, 2007. "Turn back the calendar to 1971 when former Yankee Rick Cerone was the Essex Catholic quarterback against Bergen Catholic."]
*Marty Liquori - middle distance track athlete. [ [http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/TF/showBio.asp?HOFIDs=97 Marty Liquori] , USA Track & Field. Accessed October 7, 2007.]
*Peter Westbrook, fencing champion.Wadler, Joyce. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E03E0DA1639F935A3575AC0A9669C8B63 "PUBLIC LIVES; A Saber Rattler Teaching Sportsmanship"] , "The New York Times", September 6, 2000. Accessed October 23, 2007. "He started fencing, at Essex Catholic High School, only because his mother bribed him with $5.... Mr. Westbrook was a statewide champion in high school, received a full athletic scholarship to New York University, attended his first Olympic Games in 1976 at age 24."]

Trivia

In the Fall of 1968 the school administration received a letter from an unknown source informing them that a large amount of explosives were hidden in the sub-basement of the school. The entire student and faculty population was dismissed early while the Newark Police Bomb Squad removed the dangerous explosives from the building.

References

External links

* [http://www.rcan.org/news03/050203pr.htm Bishop Francis Essex Catholic Regional High School to Close in June] , Press release dated May 2, 2003
* [http://www.virtualnewarknj.com/memories/nonewark/buckleyessexcath.htm Old Newark Memories: Essex Catholic High School]
* [http://www.essexcatholichighschool.com Official Essex Catholic Alumni Association Website]