Salpointe Catholic High School is a co-ed Catholic high school in Tucson, Arizona. Although located in the Diocese of Tucson, it is administered by the Carmelite Order.
History
Salpointe Catholic High School is named for Arizona's first Bishop, Jean-Baptiste Salpointe, who worked as a missionary in the Arizona Territory from 1866 to 1885.
In the late 1940s, Tucson's parochial grammar schools had nine grades. The desire to build a Catholic high school for these graduates prompted the diocese to purchase the Florence Addition. Salpointe Catholic High School began in 1950 as a modest school consisting of what is now the Farr Patio and cafeteria. On the first day of school, Salpointe opened to 100 students. At that time, Tucson High School and Amphitheater High School were the only other high schools in Tucson. Salpointe had nine classrooms, a library and administrative offices. The first principal was Rev. Victor Stoner. He was followed by Rev. Edward Carscallen and Rev. George Dyke.
In summer 1952, Msgr. Francis Green, pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul Parish, visited the Chancery Office in Chicago, where he met Rev. Romaeus O'Brien, O. Carm. He mentioned that Bishop Daniel Gercke of Tucson was thinking about asking a religious order to operate Salpointe. In spring 1953, Green made a formal request that the Carmelites come to Tucson. Rev. Joseph Bonaventure Gilmore, O. Carm., Provincial Counselor, and Rev. Kenneth Moore, O. Carm., Assistant Provincial, met with Green, Msgr. Don Hughes, president of the Salpointe School Board, and other pastors. Gilmore became the first Carmelite principal in summer 1953. In August, he wrote to Rev. Raphael Kieffer, O. Carm., Carmelite Provincial, asking that the two promised Carmelites arrive as soon as possible.
The day school opened, Fr. Frank Florian McCarthy, O. Carm., and Fr. Carl Pfister, O. Carm., arrived from Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago. The original faculty consisted of three Carmelites, six Sisters of St. Joseph, three Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, two Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and one Benedictine. Two laymen and one laywoman were also on the staff. On September 8, 1955, Bishop Gercke transferred ownership of the forty acres and buildings, then known as Salpointe High School, to the Carmelites for "$10.00 and other valuable considerations".
Much of Salpointe's early development (1954–1966) was due to the generosity of Helena S. Corcoran (with the support of her husband), who donated $8–$10 million for expansion of the Salpointe campus. Under her sponsorship, the school grew from 400 to 1,000 pupils, and the physical infrastructure that forms much of today's campus was established.
In 1993, the Catalina Foothills Unified School District went before the U.S. Supreme Court to argue that it did not have to provide an American Sign Language interpreter to a deaf student attending Salpointe Catholic High School. The district argued that, while the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act would normally require such services if the student attended public school, providing it for religious instruction at Salpointe would be unconstitutional. In Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District, the court found "that the Establishment Clause does not bar the school district from providing the requested interpreter."
Admissions
Policies and procedures
Admissions decisions are made on the basis of information provided on several application forms, recommendations, transcripts, and a personal interview.
The admissions process starts in the fall of each year, before a student intends to enroll at Salpointe. Several important admissions-related events are held at Salpointe including Open House and Step Up Day.
Transfer and mid-year applications are accepted for consideration throughout the year.
Administrative structure
"President/principal" model
The administration of the school consists of nine members headed by the president. Answering to the president are the principal, director of operations, the director of athletics, the director of campus ministry, the assistant principal for faculty development and supervision, assistant principal for student services, the director of counseling and the director of advancement.
Board of members and board of directors
The board of members consists of the members of the Provincial Council of the Society of Mount Carmel of Illinois (the Most Pure Heart of Mary Province of the Carmelite Order). Members serve for a term of three years.