Archbishop Stepinac High School is an American all-boys' Roman Catholic high school in White Plains, New York.
It was operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York until the 2009–2010 school year, when it became independent of the Archdiocese
It was founded in 1948 and named after Aloysius Stepinac, who was the Archbishop of Zagreb in Croatia (which was then part of Yugoslavia).
In 1952, Stepinac was appointed a cardinal by Pope Pius XII. Stepinac was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1998.
History
The school opened in 1948 with a capacity of 1,360 students. It began with freshman and sophomore years and reached its full complement in 1950.
The school was established after fundraising by the Catholic parishes of Westchester County, under the leadership of Francis Cardinal Spellman, the Archbishop of New York, and the archdiocese's educational officials.
The initial purpose of the school was to establish a full educational program with a diversity of subject choices, leading to a well-rounded student. In addition to the college preparatory program, it offered a general course for boys who wanted to finish their education with high school and enter a trade.
Boys were taught by an all-male faculty, almost entirely religious in makeup. In its earliest years, the administration of the school was mostly in the hands of priests of the Illinois-based Viatorian order, aided by some New York archdiocesan priests assisted by religious brothers and an occasional layman. All were under the supervision of the principal, Msgr. Joseph Krug.
Resident at the high school and in semi-retirement was the Catholic scholar, educator, and author Edwin Ryan, D.D. (later Msgr. Ryan). He served on occasion as counselor to students as well as a consultant to the archdiocese.
Students from the school were used as extras in the 1972 film Child's Play directed by Sidney Lumet.
In many sports, Stepinac has many rival schools that include:
Chaminade High School
Fordham Preparatory School
Holy Cross High School
Holy Trinity Diocesan High School
Iona Preparatory School
Monsignor Farrell High School
St. Anthony's High School
St. Francis Preparatory School
White Plains High School (the now-defunct annual post-season football "Turkey Bowl" on Thanksgiving Day)
Fr. John O'Keefe, the school's president from 1992 to 2004, was permanently removed from ministry in 2016 because of allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. O'Keefe's suspension was announced in a December 16, 2015, letter to parishioners from New York's archbishop, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who called the allegation "credible" .
Demographics
Race
The high school is 8.5% Asian, 12.5% Black, 14% Hispanic, 60% White and 5% other.
Program
The school's administration and faculty is a mix of priests and lay men and women.
The school draws its students predominantly from Westchester County and has evolved into a college-preparatory school.
The school offers a college-preparatory program, an honors program offering 22 AP classes, and starting in the 2016–2017 school year, an honors academy designed to give students a head start in their respective field.
The school uses a library of digital textbooks that can be accessed by students on a variety of devices and is vastly less expensive than buying individual textbooks.
Athletics
Football
Stepinac began playing football in 1950 and was one of the initial teams in the Catholic High School Football League when the league was organized in 1954.
In 2017, Stepinac was voted as one of the top-15 most-dominant New York high school football programs since 2006.
The Crusaders have been to five straight CHSFL AAA Championships, winning four of five appearances in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018.
The Crusaders were the New York State Catholic Champions in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
In 2017, the school finished ranked number five in the tri-state area, number one in New York State and number 160 in the nation by MaxPreps.
2014
In 2014, the school's varsity football team won the AAA Championship in the CHSFL. The school had won lower-division championships, but it was the first time the school was League champion since 1955, when it shared the title with Saint Francis Preparatory.
2015
The 2015 Stepinac Varsity Crusaders went undefeated at 12-0 and won both the Catholic High School Football League (CHSFL) and Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) Championships to complete an historic season.