North Catholic High School

This article is about a Pittsburgh school. For a closed Philadelphia school for boys, see Northeast Catholic High School.

North Catholic High School
Address
1617 Route 228 Cranberry Township , Butler County , Pennsylvania 16066 United States
Coordinates	40°41′17″N 80°4′6″W
Information
Former name	Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School
Type	Private
Motto	Latin: Fortes in fide (Strong in faith)
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Denomination	Marianist
Established	1939 (1939)
Founder	Hugh Charles Boyle
Status	Open
Oversight	board of directors[1]
CEEB code	393750
Chair	Nick Navari[1]
Principal	Michael Palcsey[2]
Chaplain	DJ Egan Jeff Craig[3]
Grades	9–12
Gender	coeducational
Enrollment	680+[4] (2022)
Student to teacher ratio	14:1 [4]
Color(s)	Scarlet and gold
Slogan	Fortes in Fide
Song	Forever True[5]
Team name	Trojans
Accreditation	MSA
School fees	$225 graduation fee[6]
Annual tuition	$14,650 Catholic students[7] $15,650 Non-Catholic students $16,875 International students
Website	www.northcatholic.org

North Catholic High School is a private Catholic high school located in Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania. The school's mascot is the Trojan, and its colors are scarlet and gold.

History

North Catholic High School began as an all-boys school in 1939, founded by Bishop Hugh Charles Boyle of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and the Marianists.^[8] Girls began enrolling in the school in 1973. The original location of the high school was in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Troy Hill, where it remained in operation for 75 years.^[9]

On June 2, 2012, the Diocese of Pittsburgh held a groundbreaking ceremony in Cranberry Township to signify the start of the construction of Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School, slated to receive students in the fall of 2014. The school was renamed Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School for the 2013–2014 school year after Cardinal Donald Wuerl.^[10]

On September 10, 2018, Dayton Daily News revealed that school officials shield some North Catholic faculty accused of sex abuse through transfers to Marian schools in Dayton, Ohio.^[11]

Name change

In 2018, the name of the school reverted to North Catholic High School following criticism of Cardinal Wuerl by a grand jury investigation into child abuse in Pennsylvania.^[12][13][14] There had been calls to remove the Cardinal's name since the grand jury report was released and the words "Cardinal Wuerl" on the sign outside of the school were spraypainted over by unknown vandals.^[14][15] The name was removed at the request of the Cardinal.^[13][14]

Extracurricular activities

In 2015, students pushed for the creation of a FIRST Robotics team. The team was nicknamed the Trojanators, a spin-off of the school mascot, the Trojan. The team has won numerous awards, and several students have been named Dean's List Finalists. The team is a respected organization in the Western Pennsylvania Robotics scene. ^[16]

In 2016, the North Catholic marching band was revitalized after ten years of its absence. The marching band performs halftime shows at both away and home football games and participates in parades.^[17]

In 2021, North Catholic’s football team reached the 3A WPIAL Championship, ultimately losing to Central Valley.

Notable alumni

• Michael Hayden — former Director of the National Security Agency, Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
• Jack Perkowski — first major Wall Street investor in Mainland China
• Daniel M. Rooney — owner and chairman of NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers
• Dan Onorato — Chief Executive, Allegheny County (2003–2012)
• Kevin Colbert — Director of Football Operations (GM), Pittsburgh Steelers (2000–2021)
• Luke Ravenstahl ('98) — former Mayor of Pittsburgh
• Bill Yoest — All-American football player
• John Stehr ('76) Hall of Fame Broadcaster & Current Mayor of Zionsville, Indiana

References

1. "Staff". Board of Directors. North Catholic High School. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
2. "Principal Welcome". About Us. North Catholic High School. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
3. "Our People". About Us. North Catholic High School. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
4. "2022-2023 School Profile". Retrieved September 30, 2022.
5. "Student & Parent Handbook" (PDF). North Catholic High School. 2021–2022. p. 8. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
6. "Student & Parent Handbook" (PDF). North Catholic High School. 2021–2022. p. 48. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
7. "Tuition & Financial Aid". Admissions. North Catholic High School. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
8. "About North". North Catholic High School. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
9. "Alumni to bid goodbye to old North Catholic High School". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
10. "Ground broken for new North Catholic High School". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
11. Garbe, Will. "Investigation: 7 accused Marianists spent time at UD, Chaminade". dayton-daily-news.
12. Defert, Alex (August 23, 2018). "Cardinal Wuerl's name removed from Catholic High School". Catholic Herald. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
13. "Cardinal Wuerl's name taken off Pittsburgh school due to scandal". RTÉ News. August 23, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
14. DeJesus, Ivey (August 22, 2018). "Cardinal Wuerl's name removed from a Pittsburgh Catholic high school". The Patriot-News. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
15. Rittmeyer, Brian; Clift, Theresa (August 20, 2018). "Cardinal Wuerl's name painted over at North Catholic High School". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
16. https://trojanators.org/
17. Allegretto, Amerigo. "The Cranberry Eagle Online". butlereagle.com. Retrieved March 25, 2018.^{[dead link‍]}