Our Lady of Tepeyac High School, previously known as St. Casimir High School, is a
private,
American all-girls
school
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...
. The school is located in the
Little Village neighborhood of
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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and operates within the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 an ...
.
[ The ]Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
school is accredited by the Illinois State Board of Education and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Background
In 1890, Roman Catholic bishop, Patrick Feehan, established a new parish church in the South Lawndale area of Chicago. Primarily settled by Polish Catholics, the church was named in honor of St. Casimir, the patron saint of Poland. The following year, St. Ludmilla Parish was established adjacent to Saint Casimir
Casimir Jagiellon ( la, Casimirus; lt, Kazimieras; pl, Kazimierz; 3 October 1458 – 4 March 1484) was a prince of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Second son of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, he was tutored by Johannes ...
, in order to serve an influx of Czech Catholics moving into the area. In 1927, St. Casimir Parish established St. Casimir High School, located at Cermak Road and Whipple Street. The school offered a variety of college preparatory classes exclusively for young women.Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...
on the slopes of the Hill of Tepeyac in Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
. Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most popular religious and cultural icons in Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
Demographics
Our Lady of Tepeyac High School provides educational opportunities exclusively for female students in the Chicago area. , there are 143 students attending the school, with 80.4 percent Latina, 16.1 percent African American, 2.8 percent multiracial, and .7 percent Caucasian
Caucasian may refer to:
Anthropology
*Anything from the Caucasus region
**
**
** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region
*
*
*
Languages
* Northwest Caucasian l ...
. Eighty-six percent of the students families fall below the poverty line.[
Our Lady of Tepeyac High School is an integral part of the Little Village community. Once home to Eastern European immigrants, Little Village is now considered one of the largest Mexican American communities in the country. The two public high schools in the neighborhood average a 45 percent graduation rate. For the past three years, 100 percent of our graduates have enrolled in college.]
Accreditation
Our Lady of Tepeyac High School is accredited by the Illinois State Board of Education and by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.[
]
Curriculum
Honors classes are offered in English, Algebra, Biology, Geometry, History, Chemistry, and Algebra II. Physics and PreCalculus encompass the honors-level science and math courses for seniors. In 2007, the school began offering an AP English Literature course for honors-level seniors, and in the fall of 2011, they began offering an AP Spanish Literature course to juniors and seniors.
Tuition
The total cost of educating a student is $8,300 per year. Every student will automatically receive a grant to cover the difference. Tuition for the school year is $4,900 per student. Our Lady of Tepeyac has a fundraiser every year. Their fundraising rate is $200 per student. Students raise this money by selling raffle tickets. Each student is given a certain number of tickets to sell and is also given a time limit. Their registration fee is $200 per student (non-refundable). Our Lady of Tepeyac orders books every year for the incoming students and can be sold to approximately $250 in total. Scholarship awards of $1,500 granted to the top ten scorers on the entrance exam. Awardees will be notified by mail after acceptance. Only students who test in January are eligible for an Academic Scholarship. Family Discounts: $300 discount for the high school student's total tuition if the family has at least one child at Our Lady of Tepeyac grade school.
Sports
Our Lady of Tepeyac offers volleyball, basketball, soccer, and softball.
Clubs
Our Lady of Tepeyac offers different clubs, including cooking, art, film critique, computer building, history, creative writing, environmental, board game, and dance.
References
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Catholic schools in Chicago
Private high schools in Chicago
Catholic secondary schools in Illinois
Girls' schools in Illinois
Educational institutions established in 1927
South Lawndale, Chicago
1927 establishments in Illinois