Scranton Preparatory School is a co-educational

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

high school located in

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States.

History

Scranton Prep opened its doors in 1944. At the request of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton The Diocese of Scranton () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese, suffragan see of Archdiocese of Philadelphia, established o ...

and of Catholic families in the area, the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

who had recently assumed ownership of the

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took ...

began preparations to open a college preparatory school in the Scranton area. Led by the university's president, W. Coleman Nevils, the Jesuits renovated a building known as the “Annex” on the corner of Mulberry Street and Wyoming Avenue for the high school. The Annex, formerly the Dr. Charles E. Thomson Scranton Private Hospital, was acquired by William Hafey in 1941. Although he had intended for it to be used by the university to expand its facilities, the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in Europe had caused the college’s enrollment to decline precipitously and made such expansions unnecessary. After renovations were completed, the high school was opened in 1944 for young Catholic men. The Annex served as the high school’s home until 1961 when the construction of an expressway necessitated a move to a new location. After making the Old Main Building of the University of Scranton its temporary home for two years, Prep moved to its permanent location, the former Women’s Institute Building of the International Correspondence Schools, at 1000 Wyoming Avenue. Although founded as a boys' school, Scranton Prep became

co-educational 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 ...

in 1971 when a fire destroyed Marywood Seminary, a local girls’ academy conducted by the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters. Although the Prep's staff and operation were for the most part distinct from the university, it was owned by the university and under its corporate control from 1944 until 1977, when it received its official charter of separate incorporation in 1977.

Notable alumni

* Bob Casey, Jr. – United States Senator from Pennsylvania,

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by educators Benedict Joseph Fenwick and Thomas F. Mulledy in 1843 under the auspices of the Society of Jesus. ...

* Robert P. Casey – former Governor of

P. J. Carlesimo Peter John Carlesimo (born May 30, 1949) is an American former basketball coach who coached in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and college basketball for nearly 40 years. He is also a television broadcaster and has worked with ESP ...

– NBA coach * Christopher Doherty – former Mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania,

* Marty Flynn – member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for the 113th District *

Glynn Lunney Glynn Stephen Lunney (November 27, 1936 – March 19, 2021) was an American NASA engineer. An employee of NASA since its creation in 1958, Lunney was a flight controller, flight director during the Project Gemini, Gemini and Project Apollo, Apo ...

– NASA engineer * Malachy E. Mannion – Judge of the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, M.D. Pa.) is a district level federal court with jurisdiction over approximately one half of Pennsylvania. The court was created in 1901 by subdividing t ...

Joseph M. McDade Joseph Michael McDade (September 29, 1931 – September 24, 2017) was an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives, having represented Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district. Early life and care ...

– United States Congressman from Pennsylvania * Robert C. Morlino – Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison * Christopher L. Paris – 23rd Commissioner of the

Pennsylvania State Police The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police, state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both ...

Terrence Pegula Terrence Michael Pegula (born March 27, 1951) is an American billionaire businessman and petroleum engineer. He is the owner of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL) and, with a consortium of private equity firms and athletes, th ...

– billionaire natural gas investor and professional sports franchise owner * Brian Stann –

Mixed Martial Artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

and

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

* Steve Vacendak, basketball player and coach * James Donald Walsh –

United States Ambassador to Argentina The United States ambassador to Argentina is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Argentina. Argentina had declared its independence from Spain in 1816 and there followed a series of revoluti ...

* John A. Walsh – Executive Editor for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

Marywood Seminary

* Jean Kerr – Author and playwright * Lizabeth Scott – Film actress

References

External links

Scranton Prep Official Site
{{authority control Catholic secondary schools in Pennsylvania Jesuit high schools in the United States Scranton, Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1944 Schools in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania 1944 establishments in Pennsylvania Society of Jesus in Pennsylvania