Bishop Chatard High School is a

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co-educational preparatory

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located in the Broad Ripple district of

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

in the

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. It is named after Bishop Silas Chatard, who was the first

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of Indianapolis, and oversaw the movement of the diocese from Vincennes to Indianapolis in 1898.

School history

The increase in Indiana's Catholic population that triggered the splitting of the Indianapolis diocese in 1944 also caused an increase in the need for Catholic schools. It was clear that one high school would not be sufficient to provide for Indianapolis' massively expanding Catholic population. To this end, the Archbishop of Indianapolis, Paul Clarence Schulte, ordered the construction of three new Catholic high schools in the city. The first of these, Bishop Chatard, would serve the north side of Indianapolis. The two other new schools, Roncalli High School and

Cardinal Ritter High School Cardinal Ritter High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school on West 30th Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis. It was founded in 1964 and serves the west side of the Indianapolis ...

, would serve the south and west sides of Indianapolis respectively. Scecina would continue to serve the east side of the city. Ground was broken for the first of the schools, Bishop Chatard, in the fall of 1960 on diocese property at the corner of Crittenden and Kessler Avenues. Construction of the school and an adjacent convent was completed in less than a year, and the first students were admitted in September 1961. Each year a class of students was added to the school, and the first graduating class was the class of 1964-65. Initially, classes were taught almost entirely by priests from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and

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Sisters of

Beech Grove Beech Grove is a city in Marion County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city's population is 14,192. The city is located within the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Beech Grove is designated an "excluded city" under Indiana la ...

. Many sisters were housed in the convent on-site, but their numbers declined to the point that in the 1970s, their convent was converted to an annex of the school. The annex has served as classroom, office and storage space for thirty years, and was recently rededicated to the Sisters as the St. Benedict Center. By 1997, the school was showing its age. Paint was peeling, windows and roofs were leaky, and facilities sorely needed an upgrade. To remedy the situation and remodel the 35-year-old building, school administrators embarked on a $2 million capital campaign to pay for new windows, a new roof, electrical improvements, and other needed renovations. These were undertaken in summer 1997. In the summer of 2005, and completed over the 2007-08 school year, a campaign involved the construction of an additional elevator to allow better access to classrooms for handicapped students and a remodeling of the cafeteria and several hallways. A new auxiliary gymnasium was paid for by alumni donations and a slight tuition increase.

Academics

Bishop Chatard has been accredited by AdvancED or its predecessors since April 2004.

Demographics

The demographic breakdown of the 691 students enrolled in 2015-2016 was: *Asian/Pacific islanders - 0.9% *Black - 11.7% *Hispanic - 3.3% *White - 80.6% *Multiracial - 3.5%

Athletics

The Bishop Chatard Trojans compete in the Circle City Conference. School colors are royal blue and white. The following Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) sanctioned sports are offered: *Baseball (boys) *Basketball (girls and boys) **Boys state championships - 2003 *Cross country (girls and boys) *Football (boys) **State championships - 1983, 1984, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2022 *Golf (girls and boys) *Soccer (girls and boys) *Softball (girls) *Swimming (girls and boys) *Tennis - (girls and boys) *Track - (girls and boys) *Volleyball (girls) **State championships - 2004, 2012 *Wrestling (boys)

Student activities

Chatard competes annually in the Brain Game, a quiz bowl program broadcast on local television. There are many fine arts programs, such as marching band, concert band, pep band, concert choir, show choir, and the thespian society.

Notable alumni

* Ryan Baker -

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- NFL

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* Joe Holland - NFL

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* Doug Jones - actor * Bill Lynch -

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head

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coach * Nick Martin - NFL offensive center *

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- NFL

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

* Dray Mason - professional indoor football player *

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- Second Lady of the United States *

Maris Valainis Maris Valainis ( Latvian: Māris Valainis) (born on February 18, 1963) is an American construction consultant and a former actor, best known for his role in the 1986 film '' Hoosiers''. He portrayed Jimmy Chitwood, a basketball player who makes a ...

- actor *

Vincent Ventresca Vincent Paul Gerard Ventresca (born April 29, 1966) is an American actor, perhaps best known for portraying Darien Fawkes on Sci-Fi's ''The Invisible Man'', and Professor Jack Reed on NBC's ''Boston Common''. Ventresca is also known for his guest ...

- actor

References

External links

* {{Authority control Schools in Indianapolis Catholic secondary schools in Indiana Private high schools in Indiana Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis IHSAA Conference-Independent Schools IUPUI Jaguars men's basketball Educational institutions established in 1961 1961 establishments in Indiana Circle City Conference schools