Girls Prep Division FAQ
The Monks of Newark Abbey and the Board of Trustees of St. Benedict’s Prep have voted overwhelmingly to provisionally establish a Girls Prep Division and offer enrollment to displaced Benedictine Academy (BA) students, and other interested girls, subject to St. Benedict’s space limitations and other resources. The Girls Prep Division will be evaluated by the Board of Trustees — at a minimum of once a year — and a determination made within three years, to continue to operate the Girls Prep Division on the Property, elsewhere, or no longer at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why start a prep division for girls? Why now?
- Will this be an entirely new school or just another part of St. Benedict’s Prep? Will it be housed at 520 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.?
- Why can’t SBP just lease BA’s property in Elizabeth and run a school for girls there?
- Aren’t there other schools we could have encouraged the girls to attend, like Saint Vincent Academy?
- Did the Archdiocese approve this?
- How many girls will be enrolled?
- How much is the tuition?
- Does this mean St. Benedict's Prep is going coeducational?
- Will the girls have their own faculty?
- What do Gray Bees in the Boys Prep Division think of the decision?
- Will the girls be at Convocation with the boys every morning?
- Will the girls have their own group system and leadership?
- Was the decision made in order to boost enrollment?
- Won't a girls prep division change the culture of the School?
- Will the girls wear hoodies? Will the boys go back to shirt and ties?
- What about traditions and rites of passage like The Trail and Overnight?
- Where will the funding for the Girls Prep Division come from? How will it impact St. Benedict’s finances overall? If money exists, wouldn’t it be better spent on strengthening the Benedict’s that exists today?
- Can my donations go to only support the boys?
- What kinds of activities will the girls have? What about athletics and Title IX?
- Will girls be able to live in Leahy House?
- Will the girls have access to the Grossman Counseling Center?
- When will classes for girls begin?
- What about pregnant students? Will there be lactation rooms?
- Don’t we now have to worry about boys and girls “being together” in ways they shouldn’t?
- What if all this doesn't work?
- Where can I watch the Town Hall Fr. Ed hosted about the girls division?
- How can alumni and friends help?