Traditions of Excellence

Oratory Prep | Validating the Vision: The Foundation Documents

Belief Statements 

We believe that education is essential in the global community for a fuller appreciation of diversity and the development of common values and shared ethical conduct.

We believe that Catholic education provides a critical means by which the values of the Judeo-Christian heritage may be shared with young people.

We believe that educational communities are most genuine and effective when their people and programs reflect continuous commitment to growth and improvement.

We believe that all students should be challenged to become contributing members of our society and that the role of educators is to provide a school environment in which this responsibility may be promoted.

We believe that it is an essential responsibility of educators to develop programs and standards of study that reflect the needs, abilities, and interests of students and support them in becoming effective learners.

We believe that the values, skills, and knowledge gained through the middle and high school years are crucial to personal development.

We believe that education and moral development are shared responsibilities among families, schools, and the larger community.

Mission Statement

Oratory Preparatory School is a Roman Catholic educational ministry of the Archdiocese of Newark which exists to serve qualified boys in Grades 7 - 12 with the benefits of a Catholic education. Through participation in an exceptional college preparatory program which emphasizes close, personal relations, Oratory students are supported in their religious, moral, intellectual, social, and physical growth.

In partnership with the families of our students and in an atmosphere that encourages continuous growth and improvement, Oratory Preparatory School works to develop effective learners during the critical middle and high school years.

Oratory Preparatory School, faithful to its beliefs, looks to graduate students who will contribute positively to our global community by being men of faith, intellectual competence, wisdom, character, and action.

Statement of Philosophy

Since its inception in 1907 as Carlton Academy, Oratory Preparatory School has been committed to the educational development of young men through sharing with them a vision of life rooted in and enlivened by the Roman Catholic tradition. This tradition, which seeks to join faith to life and learning with service, provides a framework in which young men prepare to be effective participants in a world that is ever changing and in great need of timeless values from which to derive wisdom and direction.

As a Roman Catholic educational community, Oratory Preparatory School students are invited to understand and make their own a gospel vision that holds the person of Jesus as model and mentor for what it means to grow as a human being. Students are taught to hold the religious, moral, and intellectual dimensions of life in balance, to develop a respect for their gifts and those of others, to understand differences in ideas among people, to use freedom in a responsible way, and to contribute to the creation of an environment in which all members of the community are welcomed and embraced.

Within this community which emphasizes close, personal relations among students, faculty, administration, parents, and alumni, the School seeks to promote an ease of access and communication among all, a sense of connectedness one to another and across generations, and the development of one's individuality within a shared, communal experience. It is because of the nature of such a partnership that we seek and value an active role for all in how we live as an educational community.

A broad and deep core curriculum which provides essential requirements for all and elective studies reflecting individual needs and interests, demonstrates the School's commitment to developing programs in both a foundational and flexible way which benefit the young men entrusted to our care as they prepare for college and life.

The School is particularly concerned with providing students opportunities to become responsible and critical thinkers so that our culture may benefit from their participation in wrestling with the central questions and issues that confront a free society.

The School is committed to maintaining an atmosphere that is responsive to changes in the educational landscape. At the same time, it values the thoughtful and prudent consideration of change and is guided in its decisions to modify programs and approaches to teaching and learning by always evaluating matters in terms of what is best for the young men entrusted to our care.

The guidance and stimulation the School provides for students is rooted in a keen appreciation of the roles of the faculty and staff. The central contributions of a highly motivated, committed, and able faculty and staff are key. By their personal witness as role models and the enthusiasm and love with which they embrace and share the subjects they teach or the duties they carry out, the faculty and staff, both in and outside the classroom, are essential elements in providing an atmosphere which is moral, caring, and joyful.

It is out of such an atmosphere, where academic expectations are joined with concerns for how students grow in spiritual wisdom, personal maturity, moral sensitivity, and social competence, that the School's approach to structure and discipline is developed. The School promotes an environment of self-discipline in which students use their freedom in a responsible way to develop study habits and standards of individual and group conduct that express a commitment to excellence and responsible living. The School proposes commitments to honesty in scholastic endeavors, integrity in dealings with others, and a continuing investment in the development of character in themselves and their peers as authentic marks of those who embrace the Oratory approach to education. It follows, then, that when it becomes necessary to challenge students to live up to this vision, the emphasis is on positive correction and helpful guidance. It is in this context that the student conduct code is developed and applied.

The vision of education the School proposes and the accountability that we insist be present to measure our efforts rests, in the end, on five elements.

The first element holds that we can have such a vision and maintain such accountability because of our belief in the dignity and potential of each individual who is created in the image and likeness of God and, thus, is born to become that image and likeness more and more as life unfolds.

The second element maintains that high standards and expectations are appropriate and necessary for a school that takes seriously the inherent dignity of the human being.

The third element insists that students participate in an educational program that is reflective of their needs and interests and that provides opportunities to practice for success. Out of such a program, relevancy and effectiveness in learning are best tested.

The fourth element emphasizes that, at its core, education is best understood as a process of becoming rooted in relationships for the sake of learning. As such, the modeling and mentoring provided to students by faculty and staff, and the respect accorded them by students, represent the dynamic that fuels progress in learning.

The final element claims that the vision of education and the accountability for learning proposed must not ignore the crucial role of parents/guardians as the first educators of their children. The partnership between school and parents/guardians should be a source of mutual support for the benefit of our young men.

Oratory Preparatory School is committed to living out the implications of this philosophy. These are, indeed, the words by which we live. In the end, though, it is by its fruits that this philosophy lives and will be measured. May we always have the courage to live by and act from these words.

Profile of the Graduate

Oratory Preparatory School, faithful to its beliefs and mission, graduates students who are able to:

Explore and pursue educational opportunities throughout life that reflect their needs, abilities, and interests.

Read, write, listen, and speak effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Think critically and creatively using the vocabulary, concepts, data, and methods from the college preparatory program of studies with which they have been engaged.

Respond to the needs of others, especially the poor and the oppressed, through acts of charity and works of justice.

Recognize and explain the role of religion in building the human enterprise, the many expressions of faith, the need for dialogue across the religious spectrum, and the importance of appreciating differences in that dimension of life.

Identify their gifts and talents and use them in positions of leadership and service throughout a wide range of professions in church and society.

Show appreciation for their experience of being students of Oratory Preparatory School By continuing to demonstrate loyalty and school spirit through participation in the life of the School as alumni.

Integrate prayer, theological understanding, moral reflection, and service to others a foundation for action in life.

Access, evaluate, and use information and resources from print and electronic media for research purposes in ways that are consistent with norms for scholastic honesty.

Parameters

Oratory Preparatory School is and will remain:

• Under the ownership and sponsorship of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark which defines the mission of the School and its governance structure.
  
  
• Roman Catholic in its identity.
  
  
• College preparatory in its programs.
  
  
• A school for boys in Grades 7 - 12.
  
  
• A school committed to maintaining its small size.
  
  
• Financially self-supporting.