Providence St. Mel School (PSM) is a private,

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

Preschool-12th Grade school in East Garfield Park,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

History

The school was created in 1969 with the merger of two schools, Providence High School and St. Mel High School. In 1978 the

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 and ...

decided to close it. The principal, Paul J. Adams III, and administrators of the school chose instead to operate it as an independent school, after the

Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an apostolic congregation of Catholic women founded by Saint Theodora Guerin (known colloquially as Saint Mother Theodore) at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1840. Mother Theodo ...

, owners of the school building, agreed to sell it to them for a low price. In 1982 and 1983, President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

visited the school. In 1993,

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

donated $1,000,000. The October 2006 issue of ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'' magazine ranked Providence St. Mel as one of the most outstanding elementary schools in the metropolitan area. The school earned a place on the magazine's "A+ Team", the list of select 115 public and 25 private elementary and middle schools. Most recently, the school was listed as 44 of 59 (Best Private K-12 Schools in Illinois) and 113 of 142 and 83 of 138 (Best Private High Schools in Illinois), with a 100% graduation rate.

Alumni

Lil Rel Howery Milton "Lil Rel" Howery Jr. (born December 17, 1979) is an American actor and comedian. Howery is known for playing Robert Carmichael in NBC's television comedy series ''The Carmichael Show'' (2015–2017) and Transportation Security Administratio ...

, comedian *

Linton Johnson Linton Johnson III (born June 13, 1980) is an American professional basketball player. He is married to a woman from Caserta, and has Italian citizenship. Linton Johnson is the nephew of former NBA player Mickey Johnson. Career After a four-yea ...

, professional basketball player * Bernie Leahy (1908–1978), NFL player; attended St. Mel High School *

Lee Loughnane Lee David Loughnane (pronounced LOCK-nain; born October 21, 1946) is an American trumpeter, flugelhorn player, vocalist, and songwriter, best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago. Early life and education Lee David Loughna ...

, trumpet player for the American rock band Chicago *

Bob Ociepka Robert Henry "Bob" Ociepka is an American former basketball coach. Early life Ociepka was born in Chicago to an Italian American mother and Polish American father. Ociepka grew up in the West Side district of Chicago. After graduating from St ...

, professional basketball coach *

Tom O'Halleran Thomas Charles O'Halleran (; born January 24, 1946) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 2017. Beginning his political career as a Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

, Member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

's 1st district *

Gene Pingatore Eugene Louis Pingatore (October 25, 1936 – June 26, 2019) was an American basketball coach who served as the head boys' basketball coach at St. Joseph High School (Westchester, Illinois), St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a suburb ...

, high school basketball coach * Frank Quilici, professional baseball player

References

External links

*
Reviews and profile on GreatSchools.org

Google map of the school
{{authority control Private elementary schools in Chicago Private high schools in Chicago Private middle schools in Chicago Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Educational institutions established in 1968 1968 establishments in Illinois African-American Roman Catholic schools

History

Alumni

See also

References

External links