Brooklyn Preparatory School, commonly referred to as Brooklyn Prep, was a highly selective

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preparatory school founded by the Society of Jesus in 1908. The school educated generations of young men from throughout New York City and Long Island until its closure in 1972. The Prep was located on 1150 Carroll Street in the Crown Heights section of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. The grounds and buildings are presently part of

Medgar Evers College Medgar Evers College is a public college in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), offering baccalaureate and associate degrees. It was officially established in 1970 through cooperation between educator ...

of the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

(CUNY). Located next to the Prep was the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, which was also run by the Jesuits and which was closed in 2011. As a Jesuit institution, Brooklyn Prep was noted for its religious values, classical roots (e.g.,

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and Greek), and dress code (ties and jackets) – all part of its goal of turning out well-rounded, educated men. Most of its graduates matriculated to four-year colleges. For many years, the school offered a full,$1,800. four-year scholarship, to the winner of its annual "Diocesan Spelling Bee", which was open to all eighth grade male students from the Diocese of Brooklyn as well as the Diocese of Rockville Center. In 1961, the more than 150 entrants dwindled down to the Spelling Bee winner... Arthur Reilly, from St. Pascal Baylon School, in Saint Albans, New York. The "Prep" was part of a group of eight Jesuit secondary schools in New York and New Jersey (

Regis Regis or Régis may refer to: People * Regis (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Regis (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Regis (musician), full name Karl O'Connor, an English ...

, Xavier, Loyola, Fordham Prep, St. Peter's Prep, Canisius and McQuaid). The 100th anniversary of the school was celebrated by alumni and former faculty in October 2008. In 2003, New York Nativity began "Brooklyn Jesuit Prep", a co-educational middle school in the former St. Teresa's School at Sterling Place and Classon Avenue in Crown Heights, providing Jesuit-taught tuition-free education for 5th through 8th grades.Brooklyn Jesuit Prep website
.

Notable alumni

Among Brooklyn Prep's notable alumni are: * Robert S. Bennett, 1957 – Washington, D.C. attorney* (official site) *

William Peter Blatty William Peter Blatty (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American writer, director and producer. He is best known for his 1971 novel, ''The Exorcist'', and for his 1974 screenplay for the film adaptation of the same name. Blatty won ...

, 1945 – author of ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty W ...

'' *

Joseph Califano Joseph Anthony Califano Jr. (born May 15, 1931) is an American attorney, professor, and public servant. He is known for the roles he played in shaping welfare policies in the cabinets of Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Jimmy Carter and for se ...

, 1948 – former

Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

* William P. Ford, 1953 eceased– international civil rights attorney* *

Jack Hofsiss John Bernard Hofsiss (September 28, 1950 – September 13, 2016) was an American theatre, film, and television director. He received a Tony Award for his direction of ''The Elephant Man'' on Broadway, the youngest director to have ever received ...

, 1967 – director of ''

The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then we ...

'' * Joseph M. McLaughlin, 1950 – Senior Appellate Judge, Second Circuit *

John Musto John Musto (born 1954) is an American composer and pianist. As a composer, he is active in opera, orchestral and chamber music, song, vocal ensemble, and solo piano works. As a pianist, he performs frequently as a soloist, alone and with orch ...

, 1972 – composer, concert pianist; 1997

Pulitzer Prize in Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted i ...

finalist *

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

, 1944 eceased– football coach at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

for 45 years *

John Sexton John Edward Sexton (born September 29, 1942) is an American lawyer, academic, and author. He is the Benjamin F. Butler Professor of Law at New York University where he teaches at the law school and NYU's undergraduate colleges. Sexton served as t ...

, 1959 – President of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

*Dr.

George A. Sheehan George A. Sheehan (November 5, 1918 – November 1, 1993) was an American physician, senior athlete, and author best known for his writings about the sport of running. His book, "Running & Being: The Total Experience", became a New York Times best ...

, 1936 (deceased) – best-selling running and fitness expert * Raymond Siller, 1956 – television writer, political consultant

Notable faculty

Noted faculty included: *Rev. Thomas V. Bermingham, SJ – classical scholar; professor at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

and

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

who worked on ''The Exorcist'' *Rev.

Daniel Berrigan Daniel Joseph Berrigan (May 9, 1921 – April 30, 2016) was an American Jesuit priest, anti-war activist, Christian pacifist, playwright, poet, and author. Berrigan's active protest against the Vietnam War earned him both scorn and admir ...

, SJ – peace activist; author and poet *Rev. Edward B. Bunn – dean of Brooklyn Prep and later president of

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in the ...

and Georgetown University *Rev. J. Charles Davey, SJ – first dean of Brooklyn Prep and president of

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...

John C. Lawn John C. "Jack" Lawn (born June 2, 1935) served as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) between 26 July 1985 and 23 March 1990. On 1 March 1985, Lawn, who had served as Deputy Administrator since 1982, was designated Acting Ad ...

– varsity basketball coach, who became

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...

Administrator, COO of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, and CEO of

The Century Council Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org), formerly known as the Century Council, is an American not-for-profit organization founded in 1991 and funded by a group of distillers that aims to fight to eliminate drunk driv ...

References

{{Authority control 1908 establishments in New York City 1972 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct boys' schools in the United States Defunct high schools in Brooklyn Defunct Catholic secondary schools in New York City Educational institutions disestablished in 1972 Educational institutions established in 1908 Jesuit high schools in the United States Preparatory schools in New York City Catholic preparatory schools in the United States Boys' schools in New York City Roman Catholic high schools in Brooklyn Crown Heights, Brooklyn