Bishop Verot named a top-50 Catholic high school
The Bishop Verot High School has been ranked among the top 50 Catholic high schools in the United States.
The National Catholic High School Honor Roll, which is an independent project of the Acton Institute with an advisory board comprised of Catholic college presidents and scholars, chose Verot as one of the top 50 high schools.
Verot was recognized for its high academic standards, upholding its Catholic identities, along with preparing their students to actively engage in the world.
The other Florida Catholic schools in the top 50 included Archbishop Edward McCarthy, Belen Jesuit and Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Bishop Verot Principal John Cavell told the student body Friday afternoon that they were gathered at the De Sales Plaza for a celebration. Before he told the students what the celebration was for he made sure he cleared the “rumors that have ran rampant” since Monday.
Cavell said the celebration was not for renaming the street in front of the school, about him retiring, building a new building or hosting a reality television show on campus.
He said there are more than 1,200 Catholic schools in the United States and they were recognized as one of the top 50 Catholic high schools.
“This award is not mine,” Cavell told the student body. He told them the award was a representation of their teachers and the hard work they put forth.
Two special guests also spoke at the celebration Friday afternoon — Bishop Frank Dewane of the Diocese of Venice and Director of Education for the Diocese of Venice Kathlene Schwartz.
“I am delighted to be here for the announcement,” Schwartz said. “You can be sure I will be bragging about you to my fellow superintendents.”
She told the students that this is the first time Bishop Verot has been among the top 50 Catholic schools since it opened.
Dewane said that he is very pleased to be among the students and faculty today for the prestigious award.
“Today is a day to celebrate and be proud of your school,” he said.
Cavell said he is very honored to receive the recognition.
“This national recognition is for all the members of the Bishop (Verot) family,” he said. “This recognition is the validation of something we all know and feel in our hearts.”
“We are the top 50 going into our 50th anniversary,” Cavell said, smiling.
Director of Communications Dan Jackman said the award is exciting because it shows where Bishop Verot is as an educational institution.
The celebration ended with the student body singing their alma matter.
Bishop Verot High School was founded in 1962 and currently has 655 students enrolled in ninth through 12th grade.
Since the beginning of the year, seven Bishop Verot students have been named the 2011 National Merit Scholars, 81 percent of the student body achieved a pass rate on the Advanced Placement Exam and a record number of students took the ACT test during the 2009-2010 school year scoring a composite score of 23.5.