Oratory Preparatory School


Oratory Preparatory School, commonly known as Oratory Prep, is a Roman Catholic college preparatory day school for boys in grades 7-12, located in Summit, in Union County, New Jersey, United States, approximately west of Manhattan. The school is located one block away from the Kent Place School and is in close proximity to Summit High School.
The school is associated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Oratory Preparatory School is a member of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools since 1973.
As of the 2015-16 school year, the school had an enrollment of 358 students and 38.3 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 9.4:1.
The school was founded in 1907 as Carlton Academy, with grades 4-12. Most of the students lived on campus. Due to the school's relatively small size, students in a given grade are not individually ranked. Oratory is home to young men from more than 70 communities in the New York metro area. Tuition for the 2018-19 academic year was $22,350 and a $300 registration fee is required; this does not include costs for transportation, books and meals. Financial aid and scholarships are offered to more than 30% of Oratory families. Each year 100% of Oratory seniors are accepted to four-year colleges.

Awards, recognition and rankings

In 2015, the United States Department of Education announced that Oratory had been recognized with the National Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence, the Education Department's highest honor. Oratory was one of 15 schools in the state and one of two private secondary schools across the nation to receive this distinction.

History

Though the school is named Oratory, it does not have any connection to the Oratorian Fathers. However, there may have been an association in the past, as advertisements for the school in The New York Times during the 1910s mention the Oratorian Fathers. The reason for the name change is said to be that the school wanted to attract Oratorian Priests, however this plan proved to be unsuccessful. Oratory was founded as an exclusive boarding school serving boys in grades 4 through 12, although in 1964 it became strictly a day school.
Oratory originally resided on a lot, but was reduced to its current ten after selling off a portion of land in the 1960s. In 1967, the school was sold to the Archdiocese of Newark after running into financial difficulties. Among century-old specimen trees and rolling hills, the campus consists of two main academic buildings, athletic fields, and a prayer garden. Around the start of the 21st century, the campus was conversationally referred to as "The Park" by Summit residents because it had various athletic fields, intricate lamp posts, its own irrigation system, and a small pond that was used for skating during the winter season. The Fr. John J. Bain Academic building, built in 1959, contains classrooms, gymnasium, computer lab, and chemistry lab. Oratory's Cavalero Memorial Field, an artificial turf field constructed in 2010, hosts a baseball diamond as well as Northern New Jersey's largest high school soccer field.
In 2006, the land was assessed at $6,270,000, and the buildings at $2,752,700, a total of $9,022,700.

Capital improvement plan

Oratory Prep is governed by a 21-member Board of Trustees, appointed by the Archbishop of Newark. Annual Giving provides approximately 20 percent of the school's annual budget, which currently averages about $3.9 million. Corporations, foundations, parents, and alumni contribute to the Annual Giving Program.
With support from all resources, Oratory has made significant changes to the school in the past five years. Beginning in 2003, the school has required, as part of the "Anytime, Anywhere Learning Program", personal laptop computers for grades 9-12, and put the entire campus on a wireless internet network. In the summer of 2004, a $1.3 million renovation to Fr. John Bain Academic Building was completed, resulting in major renovations to each classroom, and the installation of smartboards. In 2005, a new library and art studio was built in the location of the previous stage area. In 2010, an artificial turf field, named Cavalero Memorial Field, was constructed on the former Kelly Field. That same year after the observation that the library was unused, they turned the library into a state-of-the-art music room, and started a jazz band.

Throughout the summer of 2006, improvements included renovations to the main lobby and gym, and the installation of an up-to-date security system, complete with 18 security cameras and new servers. A new marquee is located on the Morris Avenue side of the campus.

Athletics

The Oratory Prep Rams compete in the Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Prior to the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in the Mountain Valley Conference, which included public and private high schools in Essex County, Somerset County and Union County. Oratory had recently held the most titles of any school in the conference. Teams compete in the NJSIAA non-Public B state tournaments because of the school's small population.

Fall

The mock trial team, sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, began at Oratory in 2003. In 2006, 2007, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2018, the team won the state regional final championship, and in 2007 the team won the state semifinals, finishing third in the state, and in 2016 finished 2nd in the state. The team has won the Union County Championship 13 years, including the past eight years. In 2007 the team qualified for the American Mock Trial Invitational held in New Jersey. There the team won two of three trials and finished fifth in the nation. The team was coached by Bill Martin, Director of Student Activities, since the team's inception. In 2012, the team won the state championship, marking the first time that a school from Union county had won the state championship..

Annual events and fundraisers

Headmasters