A Few Images Of St. Ignatius High School In Cleveland

My apologies to those just following the blog for Pittsburgh stuff and also those who already know these places in Cleveland well. Many do not.

Pittsburgh is often described as the "best kept secret city", or the "unknown gem", but at this point most people who see it that way are really out of touch. Cleveland is really unknown--and has lots of fascinating places and assets most people don't know about.

Anyway, I meant to get in a lot more shots of Ohio City and did take more which somehow didn't get on my camera or got deleted. St Ignatius High is an architectural gem--but also a key living breathing elite institution of learning on Cleveland's West Side--now celebrating it's 125th year.

The school was opened on September 6, 1886, by German Jesuits from Buffalo, New York, who responded to an invitation from Bishop Richard Gilmour to provide advanced schooling for Cleveland's Catholic young men. Known as Saint Ignatius College, it was modeled after the German Gymnasium and French Lycee. Students were admitted after six years of grammar school and received a bachelor’s degree after a six-year course of studies. There was no distinction between high school and college. The first A.B. degrees were conferred in 1894.

In 1902 high school and college departments were established, and the high school program was extended to four years. In 1923 the college department changed its name to John Carroll University and in 1935 was moved into new buildings in University Heights. Saint Ignatius High School remained at the original location.

•In 1985 Saint Ignatius was named a National Exemplary School. In 2009, it was named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education.

•Saint Ignatius students consistently receive academic recognition from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation Averages for the last several years: (20 Semifinalists, 24 Commended Students); the National Achievement Program (One Referred Student ), and the National Hispanic Recognition Program (One Scholar).

•The Speech and Debate Team placed first in the State of Ohio in 2001.

•Saint Ignatius won the Ohio Math League Competition for the State of Ohio in 2002 and 2003.

•The Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) averages are well above the national averages.

•Almost one hundred percent of the students go on to a four-year college or university within one year of graduation.

•More than fifty percent of the teachers have been at the school ten or more years, and almost forty percent of them are Ignatius graduates who have returned to the school to support and continue its reputation for academic excellence. Eighty percent of the professional staff hold advanced degrees.

•The College Board recognizes Saint Ignatius as one of the top one hundred high schools in terms of the number of advanced placement examinations taken by students.

•The Society of Jesus has recognized the school’s Arrupe Neighborhood Partnership program as a Model Project Building Just Communities in the United States.

St. Ignatius is not in a suburb of Cleveland!

Recently, the owner of The Cleveland Browns who lives on Long Island, decided he would be moving back to Cleveland--into the city near the school.

"This has nothing to do with the Cleveland Browns or my role with the Browns,'' said Lerner. "I couldn't be happier with the professional management team in place. My spending more time here is to support my son, who's made the decision to attend St. Ignatius.''