OLDEST - continually operating Black Catholic Educational Facility in the U. S. - St. Frances Academy - Baltimore, Maryland
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Don.Morfe
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St. Frances Academy is an independent Roman Catholic high school in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1828, it is the first and oldest continually operating Black Catholic educational facility in the United States.
Waymark Code: WM17FN5
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 02/12/2023
Views: 1
From Wikipedia:
"St. Frances Academy is an independent Roman Catholic high school in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1828, it is the first and oldest continually operating Black Catholic educational facility in the United States.
On June 13, 1828, the Oblate School for Colored Girls opened for its first year at 5 St. Mary's Court in Baltimore's Seton Hill neighborhood, northwest of downtown, near St. Mary's Seminary and College, then located on North Paca Street, the first Roman Catholic seminary in America, founded 1791. The following year in 1829, the school taught out of 610 George Street and then 48 Richmond Street (now West Read Street), a few blocks away. In 1871, the school moved to its current location in inner East Baltimore at 501 East Chase Street in what is now the Johnston Square neighborhood. The school graduated its first class with ceremonies in 1832. By 1853, the school changed its name from the Oblate School for Colored Girls to the Saint Frances School for Colored Girls, named after St. Frances of Rome (1384–1440), and later shortened and elevated to the Saint Frances Academy. It was established with the mission to teach "children of color to read the Bible" – an act that would have been tremendously difficult during the era of American slavery.
In the early 1800s, various Protestant organizations in Baltimore such as Sharp Street Methodist Episcopal Church’s Free African School (1802), Daniel Coker’s Bethel Charity School (c. 1812), St. James Protestant Episcopal Day School (1824), and William Lively’s Union Seminary (1825) created schools for African-American students. While providing a valuable service, they could not meet the demands of Baltimore’s growing free African-American population. Mother Mary Lange recognized the need for education for African American children and opened a school for them in her home in the Fells Point area of the city. There were no free public schools for children of color in Baltimore until 1866.
The high school began coeducational admitting boys in the 1970s. Now, 192 years later, Saint Frances Academy offers a traditional, co-educational, college-preparatory curriculum for students in grades nine through twelve. An honors program is available to select students and all students complete a community service component. Independently owned and operated by the Roman Catholic religious order of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, Saint Frances Academy is approved by the Maryland State Department of Education and is accredited by the Commission on Secondary Schools of the regional agency of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The small academy student population is still predominantly African-American."
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