Location: New York, NY
Founded: 1848
Students: 340 boys
Facutly: 41 full and part-time faculty and staff
Mascot: The Cardinals
Discover La Salle Academy, New York
Br. Richard Galvin, FSC, Campus Minister with a student
It was March 26, 1848. Father Lafont, the French missionary priest who was pastor of St. Vincent de Paul parish in Lower Manhattan, wrote a letter to his homeland addressed to Brother Phillipe, then the Superior General of the Brothers. Father Lafont asked Brother Phillipe if he could “send some Brothers to work with the boys of the poor in my French congregation.” It was an audacious request that met with an affirmative response. Four Brothers disembarked in New York City and started instructing the young men whom Father Lafont wanted to educate by September. This was the beginning of La Salle Academy.
Today, 174 years later, three Brothers and their colleagues are in Lower Manhattan teaching immigrants and the sons of immigrants. Students whose parents come from France are now joined by schoolmates whose parents come from several dozen countries representing every continent except Antarctica. The cultural diversity of La Salle Academy reflects that of New York City, enriching the community of learners with the presence of children of God from across the globe.
La Salle has a 100% college acceptance rate. Among the places in and beyond the NYC metropolitan area where our most recent graduates will study in September are Stanford, Colby, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NYU, Cornell, and many other notable institutions of higher learning. The impact of the presence and programming of our Writing Center is one of many factors associated with this achievement. In addition, La Salle Academy is proud to participate in the dual-enrollment program with St. Francis College. Currently, seven classes in La Salle’s course of study mimic those in St. Francis’ catalog and offer our students the chance to receive college credits. La Salle’s faculty members who teach the classes have credentials that merit recognition as adjunct faculty at the college.
La Salle’s hydroponics lab teaches both science and service, as produce is grown by students, then distributed to help local residents.
A recent visit by His Eminence, Timothy Dolan, Cardinal of the Archdiocese of New York, was an opportunity to introduce him to three La Salle students who received sacraments of initiation during the Easter Vigil at a local parish. The Cardinal gratefully affirmed La Salle’s mission to nurture the spiritual life of its students. The church’s teachings about respect for the environment and service to others is evidenced by La Salle’s “Green Team” who tend their hydroponic towers and grow lettuce and herbs in an environmentally friendly way, and then distribute their produce locally.
Brother Philippe’s decision to send Christian Brothers in 1848 set in motion a powerful energy that is touching hearts, challenging minds, and transforming lives in New York City today just as he expected it to do in his time.
Students join Br. Thomas Casey, FSC, president of La Salle Academy, in front of the wall of flags, which depicts the heritage of all students in the school.