Review of Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, MA

Bishop Feehan High School is located in Attleboro, Massachusetts near the state line it shares with Rhode Island. The school offers a college preparatory education to both young men and young women as part of a program of Catholic education. Though many students who attend Bishop Feehan are drawn from the school’s home town of Attleboro, it has gradually expanded its student base in response to a demand from neighboring communities for an alternative to what some have concluded are failed local public high schools. A review of Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro , MA can be helpful in determining how successful Bishop Feehan has been.

A Beginning That Has Lasted. In the early 1960’s the Massachusetts based Catholic Archdiocese of Fall River set out to establish 4 regional Catholic High Schools. One of these schools was slated for the Attleboro , MA area and was staffed at the outset by the Sisters of Mercy. The goal of Bishop Feehan High School from the outset was to provide a working partnership to help area parents raise their children in the Catholic tradition.

The Sisters of Mercy worked hard to develop spiritual, academic and physical well being among their students. In so doing they emphasized the three qualities that remain symbolic of Feehan High School today. For students who come to Bishop Feehan High School the “big three” in personal development are still today summarized by the words “Sanctity, Scholarship and Sportsmanship”. It is not coincidence that these three watch words for students of Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, MA are depicted via the school’s symbol the three leafed shamrock . Just as the Sisters of Mercy and their superiors in the Archdiocese had hoped the foundation for solid Catholic education at the secondary school level was established and has been maintained.

Sanctity. Students who chose to attend Bishop Feehan High School are not expected to be saints, they don’t even have to be Catholic, but they should come to this school knowing that they are about to be immersed in an atmosphere where all assistance possible is given to the development of person holiness according to the Catholic faith. This means that the school decor is very distinctly Catholic. Prayer is typical in many classrooms and community prayer and liturgy is a regular part of the school schedule. Penance services and mass celebrations are regularly scheduled throughout the year.

Christian Service opportunities are available to help students to reach beyond their own comfortable existences to meet the needs of those less fortunate and to give witness to their faith in Jesus Christ. Beginning with the class entering in 2008 Christian Service will become, not just a nice thing to do if you have the time for it, but a requirement for graduation from Bishop Feehan High School. Students will be required to complete 20 full hours of approved community service each year and to maintain a service portfolio detailing the projects which they have completed.

Also required of all Bishop Feehan students is attendance at two school retreats. One retreat is held as part of the Freshman year program . Students are then free to elect to participate in a second retreat some time in the next three years. There is little doubt among students that going to Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, MA means taking their faith seriously .

Scholarship. As much as many parents are pleased for the discipline that Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, MA offers in part through its support of personal sanctity, lots of parents send students to Feehan to help them get into a reputable college. Bishop Feehan attempts to justify the faith of parents in the schools academics. They list a total of 300 courses in 9 academic departments at Feehan. What many parents like to see are the many Advanced Placement and Honors classes that can be of help when students apply and attend college. Students who decide to attend Feehan will find that among the unique courses that are offered by the school is a course in Arabic and a course offered in Engineering. You are certainly unlikely to find so many or such diverse course offerings in public high schools.

A second way to judge the academic offerings of a high school is to review the results in terms of college attendance . In 2007 98 % of Bishop Feehan graduates were heading on to four year colleges. The other 2% were scheduled to attend two year schools. Forty-one students graduated from Bishop Feehan High School were designated as Advanced Placement Scholars. For parents concerned about their child’s chances to go on to college, Bishop Feehan offers not only a strong curriculum but also a skilled guidance department to keep students on tasks when the application process rolls around.

Sportsmanship. While there is a good competitive spirit at Bishop Feehan High School and lots of seasonal sports in which to participate, this is not a sports magnet school . Students participate in typical high school sports like football, basketball, baseball, soccer, swimming, tennis and track. But for the most part students do not seek out Bishop Feehan to get noticed by big time college scouts. This is a school that enjoys its sports activities but doesn’t live or die with their success or failure.

Admission. Not everyone who walks in the door is accepted for enrollment at Bishop Feehan. There is an admissions exam that is required and a thorough consideration of the students school record to date should also be expected. The Catholic tradition of this school is a serious consideration. More than half of those who attend Feehan come from families who are deeply involved in their local Catholic parish as religious education teachers, lectors, eucharistic ministers or in some other parish ministry.

As with all private schools, Bishop Feehan charges its students a tuition fee. Thankfully Feehan also offers excellent tuition assistance and scholarship programs. A serious effort is made to make certain that hard working students who show good promise can find their way into Bishop Feehan High School.

Bishop Feehan High School has become a well respected parochial alternative to public schools in the Attleboro Area. The more its reputation has spread and the less capable public school seem to be in advancing students to college, the greater the local competition has become for admission to Feehan.

Reference:

• www.bishopfeehan.com