Mount Carmel High School (Houston)

For other schools with the same name, see Mount Carmel High School (disambiguation).

Mount Carmel High School
Location
Houston, Texas
Information
Type	Private, Coeducational
Motto	zelo zelatvs sm pro domino deo exercitvvm (With zeal I have been zealous for the Lord, God of Hosts)
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1956
Founder	Carmelites
Closed	2008
Grades	9-12

Mount Carmel High School was a private, Roman Catholic high school in Houston, Texas, United States. It was administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

Background

Mount Carmel was established in 1956 by priests of the Order of the Carmelites.^[1] The then-Diocese of Galveston-Houston took over administration of the school in 1986 when the Carmelite order that founded the school relinquished ownership. It was the only diocesan operated high school in Houston until its closing.^[2]

The School's motto's was "zelo zelatvs sm pro domino deo exercitvvm," which is Latin for "With zeal I have been zealous for the Lord, God of Hosts" and could be seen on the hollow, Camelite, and original school shield, which was laid in the floor in the entrance of the building. The second school motto translated into "It is not permitted for us to be mediocre" and was included on the back side of shield.^[3]

Mount Carmel was in the process of making renovations to its facility and had spent a large quantity of money reparing the air conditioning and plumbing systems in the fall semester of 2007. On April 25 2008, about a month before the end of the school year, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston announced that the school would be closed at the end of the semester, saying it was too costly to renovate and maintain the school. At several meetings with the students, parents, faculty and board members on April 25, 2008 and several days after, the archdiocese stated that it would take measures to help relocate the students to other Catholic high schools. The diocese stated it would make up the difference in tuition between Mount Carmel and any other Catholic school to which the students were accepted for one year. After the first year, parents would be responsible for paying the entire tuition at their respective schools. Mount Carmel High School closed on May 28, 2008.^[4][5][6][7]

During the same year, months after Mt. Carmel High School's closing, Houston Independent School District trustees voted to create Mount Carmel Academy, a public school that was originally intended to serve the displaced students who formerly attended Mt. Carmel.^[8] Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of Houston began operations in the former Mount Carmel facility in fall 2009.^[9][10]

See also

Houston portal

References

1. ^ "Mt. Carmel High may be at risk of closing." KHOU-TV.
2. ^ MCHS. "School History". Mount Carmel High School website. http://www.mtcarmelhs.org/index.cfm?CFID=4663327&CFTOKEN=78814401&MenuItemID=226&MenuGroup=Home%20New. Retrieved 2007-05-11. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Rewind, The Soundtrack of the Year (2008 Yearbook)
4. ^ "Catholic H.S. Will Close at End of School Year." KRIV-TV.
5. ^ "Archdiocese announces school closure." Houston Chronicle. April 25, 2008.
6. ^ "Students outraged over school's closure." KTRK-TV.
7. ^ Future Closure of Mount Carmel High School." Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
8. ^ Mellon, Ericka. "HISD trustees may revive Mt. (SEE CORRECTION) Carmel as charter school." [sic] Houston Chronicle. June 5, 2008. B2. Retrieved on February 22, 2009.
9. ^ "About Cristo Rey." Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory of Houston. Retrieved on February 6, 2009.
10. ^ "New school buys Mt. Carmel campus." KTRK-TV. Thursday August 21, 2008. Retrieved on February 6, 2009.

External links

• School Website (Archive)
• Save Mount Carmel High School
• Mount Carmel Academy Houston