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| Benilde-St. Margaret's School | |
|---|---|
| Name | Benilde-St. Margaret's School |
| City | Minneapolis / St. Louis Park |
| State | Minnesota |
| Country | United States |
| Type | Private Catholic school |
| Established | 1974 |
| Grades | 6–12 |
| Enrollment | ~700 |
Benilde-St. Margaret's School Benilde-St. Margaret's School is a Roman Catholic, coeducational college-preparatory day school serving grades 6 through 12 in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Founded through the merger of two predecessor institutions, the school occupies a suburban campus and emphasizes liberal arts, STEM, arts, and athletics as part of a holistic curriculum. Its program has ties to religious orders and regional educational networks, drawing students from Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Eden Prairie, Edina, Bloomington, and surrounding suburbs.
The school's origins reflect a lineage connected to Catholic education in Minnesota, including predecessors founded by the De La Salle Christian Brothers and the Sisters of St. Joseph. Influences and contemporaries in its formation included institutions such as St. Thomas Academy, Cretin-Derham Hall, Minnehaha Academy, St. Olaf College, Macalester College, and University of St. Thomas. The 1974 consolidation that created the modern institution followed trends exemplified by mergers like Notre Dame of Minnesota, Convent of the Visitation, and other regional reorganizations of Catholic schools. Over decades the school has navigated changing demographics, accreditation cycles with organizations like Independent Schools Association of the Central States, and capital campaigns similar to those undertaken by Eden Prairie High School and Henry Sibley High School. Renovations and programmatic expansions paralleled initiatives at St. Paul Academy and Summit School and facilities upgrades comparable to projects at Minnetonka High School.
The campus sits near the boundary of Minneapolis and St. Louis Park, adjacent to neighborhoods and transportation corridors used by commuters to U.S. Route 169, Minnesota State Highway 100, and local transit routes connecting to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. Buildings include academic wings, a performing arts center, science laboratories, and athletic facilities with fields and courts like those at Williams Arena and practice spaces modeled after venues such as Target Center. Landscaped grounds feature pedestrian circulation that echoes planning found at campuses like Carleton College and Hamline University, with parking and drop-off areas serving daily commuters from suburbs including Plymouth, Wayzata, Richfield, and Golden Valley. The campus has hosted regional events drawing participants from institutions including Minnesota State High School League member schools and arts collaborations with organizations such as the Guthrie Theater.
The academic program emphasizes college preparatory coursework, Advanced Placement offerings, honors sequences, and experiential learning partnerships reminiscent of collaborations between St. Catherine University and area high schools. Departments span humanities, natural sciences, mathematics, world languages, and visual and performing arts, with elective pathways similar to those at Irondale High School and curriculum elements found at Eastview High School. The school supports college counseling that engages with admissions landscapes including University of Minnesota, Carleton College, Macalester College, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and national options such as Georgetown University, Northwestern University, and Boston College. STEM initiatives incorporate laboratory work and project-based learning aligned with regional programs at Minnesota Department of Education partners and research summer experiences like those offered by University of Minnesota Duluth. Fine arts offerings include choral, band, theater, and visual arts, with performance opportunities comparable to community collaborations with the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.
Student life combines religious formation, extracurricular clubs, student government, service programs, and retreats reflecting the school's Catholic identity and community engagement ethos similar to initiatives at Saint John’s University and Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Clubs encompass academic teams, robotics, Model United Nations, debate, literary magazine, and affinity groups that parallel organizations at Thomas Jefferson High School and other college-preparatory institutions. Community service projects have partnered with local agencies such as Loaves & Fishes and social service networks including Second Harvest Heartland, while retreats and campus ministry activities connect students with religious organizations like the De La Salle Christian Brothers and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.
Athletic programs field teams across fall, winter, and spring seasons, competing in leagues alongside schools such as Edina High School, Wayzata High School, Hopkins High School, Apple Valley High School, and Rosemount High School. Sports include football, soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, softball, track and field, cross country, swimming, golf, tennis, and lacrosse. Facilities support training and competition comparable to suburban sports complexes and draw spectators from communities including Edina, Bloomington, Plymouth, and Minnetonka. The program has produced conference champions, state tournament qualifiers, and student-athletes who matriculated to collegiate programs at institutions such as University of Minnesota, Duke University, University of Notre Dame, Princeton University, and Stanford University.
Alumni have pursued careers across politics, business, arts, sports, and sciences, joining networks that include graduates of Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Northwestern University, University of Minnesota, Carleton College, Macalester College, Dartmouth College, Cornell University, Stanford University, Notre Dame, Duke University, Georgetown University, Emory University, Boston College, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, Pepperdine University, Syracuse University, Tulane University, Rice University, Vanderbilt University, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Iowa State University, North Carolina State University, Texas A&M University, University of Texas at Austin, University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Berkeley, University of Southern California, New York University, Rutgers University, University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Drexel University, Lehigh University, Boston University, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Washington, University of Oregon, Oregon State University, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Florida State University, University of Florida, University of Miami, University of South Carolina, Clemson University, Wake Forest University, George Washington University, American University, Boston Conservatory, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine].
Category:Schools in Minnesota