Archbishop Mitty High School

Archbishop Mitty High School
Address
5000 Mitty Avenue San José, California, (Santa Clara County), 95129  United States
Coordinates	37°18′56″N 121°59′36″W / 37.31556°N 121.99333°W / 37.31556; -121.99333Coordinates: 37°18′56″N 121°59′36″W / 37.31556°N 121.99333°W / 37.31556; -121.99333
Information
Type	Private, Coeducational
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1964
Oversight	Diocese of San Jose
Principal	Tim Brosnan
Associate Principal	Dick Robinson
Teaching staff	100 full time faculty
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,680  (2011)
Average class size	24
Student to teacher ratio	16 students to 1 teacher
Campus	Suburban
Campus size	24 acres (97,000 m²)
Color(s)	Black and Gold
Athletics conference	West Catholic Athletic League
Mascot	Archie the Lion
Team name	Monarchs
Accreditation(s)	Western Association of Schools and Colleges[1]
Newspaper	'The Monarch'
Yearbook	'Excalibur'
Endowment	$9 million
Tuition	$14,900
Feeder schools	over 115 feeder schools
Alumni	10,000 alumni
Assistant Principal for Admissions	Kate Caputo
Assistant Principal for Teacher Development	Lisa Brunolli
Chief Financial Officer	Jorge Helmer
Executive Director of Advancement	Latanya Hilton
Dean of Students	Jim Fallis
Website	http://www.mitty.com

Archbishop Mitty High School (commonly known as Mitty) is a private, Roman Catholic high school located in San Jose, California, USA. The school is named for the late Archbishop John Joseph Mitty, the fourth Archbishop of San Francisco. It was the first diocesan Catholic high school in the Santa Clara Valley. Construction of the school began in 1963, and when completed, the campus occupied its present twenty-four acres. It is owned and operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California.

In 2009, Mitty's athletic program was ranked first in California and third in the United States by Sports Illustrated, and in 2010, Mitty's athletic program was ranked second in California and fourth in the United States by MaxPreps.

History

Construction of Archbishop Mitty High School began in 1963. Initially, brothers and priests of the Society of Mary were given responsibility to conduct the school. The school opened in the fall of 1964 with 189 male students. The first classes of Archbishop Mitty were held on the grounds of the adjacent Queen of Apostles Elementary School, but moved to the newly completed high school buildings in April 1965.

Archbishop Mitty High School expanded its student body in 1969 and began sharing classes with Mother Butler Memorial High School (which is now The Harker School) and St. Lawrence Girls High School, with consolidation of the three schools to be completed by the fall of 1972. With the creation of the Diocese of San Jose in 1981, Archbishop Mitty became the only high school owned and operated by the Diocese. Today, the school campus encompasses 24 acres (97,000 m²) in West San Jose along Lawrence Expressway. In 1990, Bishop Pierre DuMaine appointed Mr. Timothy T. Brosnan principal of Archbishop Mitty High School.

Campus

Archbishop Mitty High School is located in west San Jose. The school is located near highway 280, and is bordered by Lawrence Expressway on one side and Queen of Apostles School on the other. Mitty has a 24-acre (97,000 m²) campus. The main entrance and staff and faculty parking lot are located in front of the school. There is also a flag pole and the school sign near the main entrance. To the west there is the student parking lot, located near the Fien and MacLean Gyms. Towards the east side of the campus are the tennis courts and the junior parking lot. The junior parking lot is in close proximity to the baseball and softball fields. Towards the back of the school is the track and the football field. Under the football grandstand is the newly built Caputo Weight Training Room, which is open to students and faculty. The pool is located parallel to the football field. Alumna and Olympic volleyball champion Kerri Walsh donated a new professional sand volleyball court, which is located towards the back of the school, behind the baseball field. In December 2011 the Schott Family Music Center, complete with recording studios, opened, allowing the old band room to be converted into a dance studio that will open in January 2012.

Faculty

Approximately 100 full- and part-time faculty teach at Archbishop Mitty High School. Currently, more than 70% of these faculty members possess advanced degrees. All full-time faculty are represented by a labor union and have a collective bargaining agreement with the Diocese of San Jose that governs the terms of their employment. The labor union's official name is The San Francisco Archdiocesan Federation of Teachers, Local 2240, which is an affiliate of the California Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of Teachers, and the AFL-CIO.

Student body

In front of Archbishop Mitty High School.

As of the 2011-2012 school year, there are 1680 students who attend Archbishop Mitty High School. While the racial composition of Archbishop Mitty changes every year, the student body is currently 46.8% White, 14.0% Asian, 14.9% Hispanic, 3.0% African-American, and 21.3% from other races. In terms of religious affiliation, 70% of the student body is Catholic.

Academics

As a Catholic college preparatory school, Archbishop Mitty requires coursework in English, mathematics, social studies, science, modern language, fine arts, physical education, and religious studies. Archbishop Mitty also provides honors and Advanced Placement program, offering students over 34 AP courses and honors courses. Students are required to have a minimum semester course load of six classes. Many students take seven or eight classes per semester.

Students matriculate from Archbishop Mitty High School to all of the UC and CSU campus as well as all of the Ivy League schools, many Catholic universities and private colleges and universities throughout the country. 100% of Archbishop Mitty graduates go on to college. The class of 2011 earned over $18.8 million in academic scholarships and another $3.3 million in athletic scholarships to colleges and universities across the United States.

Athletics

The Archbishop Mitty Monarchs field 67 teams in 25 sports, most of them in the West Catholic Athletic League. Sports include football, badminton, basketball, baseball, cross country, field hockey, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo, wrestling, and lacrosse. Mitty's rivals include Bellarmine College Prep and Saint Francis High School.

In 2009, Mitty's athletic program was ranked first in the state and third in the nation by Sports Illustrated, after Mitty won state championships in softball, women's volleyball, women's swimming, and women's tennis^[2]. In 2010, Mitty's athletic program was ranked second in the state and fourth in the nation by MaxPreps^[3].

Archbishop Mitty also fields two officially recognized club sports teams that do not compete in the West Catholic Athletic League. The ice hockey team plays at Sharks Ice at San Jose in a CIF-run high school hockey league. The roller hockey team plays in the high school league at Rollin' Ice in the Silver Creek Sportsplex, which is located in East San Jose.

Student life

Clubs

Currently for the 2010-2011 school year, Archbishop Mitty offers 31 clubs for students to participate in. The clubs offered are San Jose Sharks Club, Beach Volleyball Club, AASU (African American Student Union), French Club, Math Club, Skate Club, Scrapbooking Club, AMHS Robotics, Global Solidarity Club, Math Team, Self Defense Club, Anime Club, Green Club, Future Business Leaders of America, Mock Trial Team, Ski and Snowboard Club, APISU (Asian Pacific Islander Student Union), Guitar Club, Mountain Biking Club, The Society for the Appreciation of Motion Pictures, Ballroom Dance Club, Irish American Club, Portuguese Club, Students Above the Influence Club, Chess Club, Italian Club, Table Tennis Club, Creative Student Association, LASU (Latin American Student Union), Science Fiction Club, Tech Club, and the Ultimate Frisbee Club and many more.

Dances

Mitty has about six dances a school year. The dances include: The Back to School Dance, Homecoming, Christmas Dance, Sadie Hawkins, Junior Prom, and Senior Ball.

Monarch Madness

The school hosts an event each year on the first Thursday in March called "Monarch Madness". This event was started by the school's current principal Timothy Brosnan in 1991, his second year at the position. He created this event in search of an activity that the whole school could participate in and as an opportunity for the campus to come together as a community. Each class (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors) picks a theme for their class 'team'; each team consists of 25 boys and 25 girls. Each class competes in dances, games, and 'The Roar'. Points are given for each event, including for cheering and sportsmanship. The event started out being held in the Fien Gym on campus, but due to its popularity, it is currently held in downtown San Jose at the Civic Auditorium.

Notable alumni

• Aaron Bates, first baseman for the Pawtucket Red Sox.
• Shannon Bothelio, U.S. Paralympic swimmer and winner of two silver and two bronze medals.
• Brandi Chastain, Olympic gold medalist and Women's World Cup champion soccer player.
• Blake Chow, the first Chinese-American promoted to Commander in the LAPD's 140 year history.
• Chelsea Stock, played Ariel on Broadway in The Little Mermaid.
• Raymond Townsend, former NBA player for the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers.
• Kerri Walsh, winner of two consecutive U.S. Olympic beach volleyball gold medals.
• Steve Purdy, Professional Soccer player for the Portland Timbers
• Drew Gordon, college basketball player for the New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team
• Danielle Robinson, point guard for San Antonio Silver Stars, #6 overall WNBA draft choice
• Robert Perry, outfielder Shrevport Captains, 16th round draft pick of the San Diego Padres
• John Faylor, defensive back San Francisco 49ers

External links

• Archbishop Mitty High School website

Notes and references

1. ^ WASC-ACS. "WASC-Accrediting Commission for Schools". http://www.acswasc.org/directory_search.cfm. Retrieved 2009-06-05. 
2. ^ 2008-09 top 10 high school athletic programs in the United States
3. ^ [1]