St. Frederick Catholic High School (Monroe, Louisiana)

St. Frederick is a college preparatory school. St. Frederick is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Monroe, Louisiana with a very diverse student body from many religious denominations.

Background

St. Frederick was established in 1964 by the Daughters of the Cross. It is named in honor of Rae Frederick Rinehart Jr., whose family donated the land the school is located on.^[2]

History

Rae Frederick Rinehart. Jr., the only child of Rae Frederick, Sr., and Laura Bres Breard Rinehart, attended St. Matthew's School and graduated from Neville High School in 1934. He contracted typhoid fever while attending Ouachita Junior College and died on his seventeenth birthday, March 29, 1935. His death initiated the long process of the building of a new Catholic high school in Monroe.

St. Hyacinth Academy, founded in 1864, served the Catholic community until St. Matthew School was built in 1927. In 1960 the grade school moved to Jesus the Good Shepherd School. The location of St. Matthew's was unsuitable for any growth and modernization, making the prospect of a new Catholic high school appealing to the students of St. Matthew's and area Catholics.

In 1960 Mrs. Rinehart donated a ten-acre tract of land on Louisville Avenue to the Diocese of Alexandria for the purpose of establishing a new Catholic high school in her son's memory. This site was sold by the Diocese, and the proceeds were used to purchase the present site on which the school was erected in 1964. Mrs. Rinehart's only request was that the new high school be named in memory of her son. Later, in her will, she left the provisions for a convent, Laurel Hall: library, St. Raphael's; and a chapel. The Daughters of the Cross, a religious community from Shreveport, moved from St. Matthew’s and operated St. Frederick for a few years. After Vatican II their numbers dropped and the new school was in danger of being closed.

In the late 1960s, at the height of the Civil Rights movement, a decision was made to close the High School division of Little Flower Academy, the African-American Catholic school in Monroe, and encourage its students to attend St. Frederick. Considering the time in which this consolidation occurred, the Franciscan sisters chose to do what was morally right in the face of some opposition. The Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, which staffed Little Flower, agreed to serve as staff at St. Frederick High School. The transition was difficult for those students, but the result was an integrated Catholic education true to the Church’s teachings.

From its 1964 ground breaking and dedication in 1965, St. Frederick has served the Catholic youth in northeast Louisiana for the past five decades. Monsignor Warren T. Larroque served as principal from 1965-1972 and was succeeded by Sister Janette Daigle, 1972-1974, co-principal, 1974-1975, Sister Laurice Cassa, co-principal, 1974-1975, principal, 1975-1977; Sister Clarice Faltus, 1977-1987; Sister Therese Marie Wieczorek, 1987-1990; Sister Marlene Geppert, 1990-1996; Mr. David DeRousse, president, and Mr. James Grady Jones, principal, 1996-1999; Mr. William Simon, 1999-2001; Reverend Timothy Hurd, chancellor, and Mr. William Ragan, principal, 2001-2002; Mr. Alan Powers, 2002-2004; Mr. Anthony Guirlando, 2004-2005; Mr. Paul Kielwasser (Interim Principal), 2005; Mrs. Jennifer Malone, 2005-2011; and Mrs. Lisa Patrick, 2011–present.

Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help who served the school from 1967-2004 included Sr. Cheryl Kemner, OSF; Sr. Janice Alfody, OSF; Sr. Kathleen Lander, OSF; Sr. Marilyn Smolinski, OSF; Sr. Renita Brummer, OSF; Sr. Rose Marie Przybylowicz, OSF; Sr. Stephanie Marie Kondik, OSF; Sr. Therese Flerlage, OSF; and Sr. Angelita Laws, OSF.

Additions to the school in the past thirty years include the convent, built in 1974. In 1975, money was raised by St. Matthew’s, and the Monsignor Marsh Gymnasium was constructed. On December 7, 1984, the band room was dedicated, and on May 19, 1990, the field house opened. Classrooms were added to the gym and field house in 1995. Built in honor of Mrs. Rinehart's parents, the Chapel of Saints Mary and Daniel was completed in the spring of 1997. In 1995, major renovations to the campus included the remodeling of the band room into the school library and refurbishing of the chemistry lab. The Bud Highfill Memorial Softball Field was dedicated in 2006.

Notes and references

External links

• School Website

Diocese of Shreveport
Ordinaries	Bishops William Benedict Friend Michael Duca
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of St. John Berchmans, Shreveport Parish churches:
Education	High schools Loyola College Prep, Shreveport St. Frederick Catholic High School, Monroe
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