CMHS School Profile - Academic Year 2011-2012
School and Community
Named for the Irish Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, Catherine McAuley High School was established in 1969 as a result of the merger of St. Joseph’s Academy with the diocesan Cathedral High School. Located in Portland, McAuley is Maine’s only private single-sex secondary school. Catherine McAuley High School offers young women of Portland and neighboring areas an opportunity to engage in a rigorous, comprehensive college-preparatory program in liberal studies. Students are accepted to McAuley without regard to race, creed, color, nationality or religion. Catherine McAuley High School is accredited by the New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges, and the State of Maine Department of Education.
Administration and Faculty
The faculty and staff are committed to developing young women of strong character, academic excellence and social integrity. The school has 27 faculty members. The teacher/student ratio is 1:9, and the average class size is 14.
Graduation Requirements
Students are required to carry the equivalent of six courses each year and must earn a minimum of 24 Carnegie Units to graduate.
| Requirements |
| Religion |
4 |
| English |
4 |
| Mathematics |
3 |
| Social Studies |
3 |
| Science |
3 |
| Foreign Language |
3 |
| Fine Arts |
1 |
| Fitness & Wellness |
1 |
| Electives |
2 |
|
| Grading system |
| A = 93 - 100 |
| B = 85 - 92 |
| C = 77 - 84 |
| D = 70 - 76 |
(PE and Pass/Fail not included in GPA)
| Weighting (Reflects only on GPA) |
| AP: +8 |
| Honors: +5 |
|
Curriculum
All academic course offerings are college preparatory. Honor level courses include English, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II/Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, US History, Economics, Psychology, and levels III and higher in foreign language. AP classes include English Language and Literature, Biology, Calculus AB, US History, and Government.
Special Features
- Over 200 online courses through Virtual High School (VHS) are available to McAuley students.
- Every student at McAuley is required to provide 15 hours of community service each year.
- All students participate in a 'community read' and integrated activities through the year. The 2011 read was Teens with the Courage to Give: Young People Who Triumphed Over Tragedy and Volunteered to Make a Difference by Jackie Waldman.
- The Ethical Leadership Institute presents students with complex, real-life ethical dilemmas through a role-playing methodology. Students are selected and invited to participate in this six-week program.
- We the People competition, sponsored by the Center for Civic Education, is a test of knowledge of the Constitution in a mock congressional hearing. The CMHS team has placed first in Maine for five of nine years and represented Maine at the national competition in Washington, D.C.
Athletics & Extracurricular Activities
A high percentage of McAuley students participate in 19 clubs and organizations and in 12 interscholastic sports. Recent highlights include the State Championship (2008) and State Sportsmanship Award (2008, 2009 & 2011) for the Swim Team, and the State Class A Basketball Championship and Sportsmanship Award in 2011. Nineteen extracurricular clubs/teams are active throughout the year. The McAuley Limelighters' (Drama) One-Act Play earned the Class B Western Maine Championship from 2001 to 2006 and again in 2011, and were the Class B Regional Runners-Up in 2008 & 2009. McAuley also boasts the 2011 Poetry Out Loud State Champion.
Testing Profiles
| SAT |
CR |
Math |
Writing |
2008 - 2011 National Merit Scholar: 1 |
| McAuley |
540 |
504 |
538 |
National Merit Finalist: 2 |
| Maine (female) |
474 |
462 |
470 |
National Merit Commended Scholar: 2 |
| National (female) |
495 |
500 |
496 |
National Hispanic Recognition Finalist: 1 |
| ACT |
English |
Math |
Reading |
Science |
Composite |
| McAuley |
23.4 |
21.8 |
23.6 |
22.5 |
22.9 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| National (male and female) |
20.6 |
21.1 |
21.3 |
20.9 |
21.1 |
College Admissions
One hundred percent of the students in the Class of 2011 enrolled in post-secondary institutions.
College Acceptances
Albany College of Pharm.(NY)
Alfred University (NY)
American Int’l. College (MA)
American University (DC)
Amherst College (MA)
Assumption College (MA)
Bates College (ME)
Bard College (NY)
Belmont University (TN)
Bennington College (VT)
Bentley College (MA)
Boston College (MA)
Boston University (MA)
Bowdoin College (ME)
Bowling Green Univ. (OH)
Brandeis University (MA)
Bryant University (RI)
Bryn Mawr College (PA)
Bucknell University (PA)
Carleton College (MN)
Carleton University (ON)
Case Western Reserve (OH)
Catholic Univ. of Amer. (DC)
Champlain College (VT)
Central Maine Comm. College Clark University (MA)
Clarkson University (NY)
Clemson University (SC)
Colby College (ME)
Colby-Sawyer College (NH)
Colgate University (NY)
College of Mt. St.Vincent (NY)
College of the Atlantic (ME)
College of Holy Cross (MA)
Colorado College (CO)
Colorado State University (CO)
Connecticut College (CT)
Cornell University (NY)
Dalhousie University (NS)
Dartmouth College (NH)
Davidson College (NC)
DeSales University (PA)
Drew University (NJ) |
Drexel University (PA)
East Carolina University (NC)
Eckerd College (FL)
Emerson College (MA)
Emmanuel College (MA)
Emory University (GA)
Endicott College (MA)
Evergreen State College
Fairfield University (CT)
Fairleigh Dickenson Univ.
Fordham University (NY)
Furman University (SC)
George Mason University (VA)
Gordon College (MA)
Goucher College (MD)
Grinnell College (IA)
Guilford College (NC)
Hamilton College (NY)
Hampshire College (MA)
Hartwick College (NY)
Haverford College (PA)
Hobart & William Smith (NY)
Husson College (ME)
Ithaca College (NY)
Johns Hopkins Univ. (MD)
Johnson & Wales Univ. (RI)
Johnson State College (VT)
Lake Forest College (IL)
Lasell College (MA)
Lehigh University (PA)
Lewis & Clark College (OR)
Loyola College in Maryland
Loyola University (IL)
Lyndon State College (VT)
Macalester College (MN)
Maine Maritime Acad. (ME)
Manhattan College (NY)
Mass. College of Pharm. (MA)
Merrimack College (MA)
Mitchell College (CT)
Mount Allison University (NB)
Mount Holyoke College (MA)
Mount Ida (MA) |
Muhlenberg College (PA)
Northeastern University (MA)
Northwestern University (IL)
Oberlin College (OH)
Pace University (NY)
Pine Manor College (MA)
Plymouth State Univ. (NH)
Prescott College (AZ)
Providence College (RI)
Queen’s University (ON)
Quinnipiac University (RI)
Regis College (MA)
Rensselaer Polytech. Inst. (NY)
Rhodes College (TN)
Rivier College (NH)
Rochester Inst. of Tech. (NY)
Roger Williams University (RI)
Rutgers University (NJ)
Sacred Heart University (CT)
Salve Regina University (RI)
Simmons College (MA)
Smith College (MA)
Southern Maine Comm. Coll.
So. New Hampshire Univ.
Southern Vermont College
Spelman College (GA)
St. Andrews Pres. Coll. (NC)
St. Anselm College (NH)
St. Bonaventure Univ. (NY)
St. Joseph’s College (CT)
St. Joseph’s College of Maine
St. Lawrence University (NY)
St. Mary’s College of Maryland
St. Michael’s College (VT)
St. Thomas University (NB)
Stanford University (CA)
Stonehill College (MA)
Suffolk University (MA)
SUNY -College Envir. Science
& Forestry (NY)
Sweet Briar College (VA)
Trinity College (CT)
Tufts University (MA) |
U.S. Military Acad. West Point
Univ. of Chicago (IL)
Univ. of Connecticut (CT)
Univ. of Denver (CO)
Univ. of King’s College (NS)
Univ. of Maine (ME)
Univ. of Maine at Augusta Univ. of Maine at Farmington Univ. of Mary Washington
Univ. of Mass. Amherst
Univ. of New England (ME)
Univ. of New Hampshire
Univ. of New Haven (CT)
Univ. of North Carolina (NC)
Univ. of Notre Dame (IN)
Univ. of Pennsylvania (PA)
Univ. of Pittsburgh (PA)
Univ. of Portland (OR)
Univ. of Puget Sound (WA)
Univ. of Rochester (NY)
Univ. of San Francisco (CA)
Univ. of So. Carolina (SC)
Univ. of Southern Maine (ME)
Univ. of Toronto (ON)
Univ. of Vermont (VT)
Univ. of Virginia (VA)
Univ. of Waterloo (ON)
Ursinus College (PA)
Villanova University (PA)
Wagner College (NY)
Washington & Jefferson
College (PA)
Wellesley College (MA)
Wells College (NY)
Wentworth Institute of Tech. Wheaton College (IL)
Wheaton College (MA)
Whitman College (WA)
Whittier College (CA)
Wilkes University (PA)
Williams College (MA)
Worcester Polytech. Inst. (MA)
Xavier Univ. (OH) |
