Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, California)

Notre Dame High School (NDHS) in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, is a co-ed Catholic college preparatory high school founded by the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1947. Initially a boys' school, it has been co-educational since the 1980s and has occupied the same campus since its founding.

Located in the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Notre Dame was designated a United States Department of Education Blue Ribbon school for 1990–1991 and 1994–1996 .

History

Notre Dame High School was founded by the Congregation of Holy Cross. At that time, some Holy Cross brothers were already on the staff at a Long Beach parish high school, St. Anthony, and have had a presence in the area since the 1850's. There was only one Catholic high school in the San Fernando Valley, Corvallis High School for girls run by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, hence the decision to establish a school there to educate local boys. Father Cavanaugh, the newly-appointed president of the University of Notre Dame and two local priests visited the Riverside Drive location and purchased the land in 1945. Plans were drawn up immediately and the campus was to be built in the Mission style, the buildings modeling various Spanish Missions along the coast of California. The school opened on September 15, 1947 with 120 boys.

During the 1970s, Notre Dame went through a tumultuous period where enrollment dipped dangerously low, as was the trend throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at that time. The buildings needed upgrading and there were discussions about selling the valuable property and moving to another site. The brothers contacted the nuns in charge of Corvallis to propose a merger but were rejected. Notre Dame announced it would admit girls starting from the 1983–84 academic year, a move which helped them to weather the decline in the enrollment encountered by other Catholic high schools in the San Fernando Valley area due to the aging population and competition from other private schools. When Corvallis closed in 1987, many of its girls transferred to Notre Dame.

Demographics

The demographic breakdown of the 1,229 students enrolled for 2017–18 was:

• Native American/Alaskan = 0.6%
• Asian = 6.2%
• Black = 8.0%
• Hispanic = 17.3%
• Native Hawaiian/Pacific islander = 5.8%
• White = 62.2%

Notable alumni

References

External links

• Official website