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The Catholic High School Honor Roll has announced its list of the best 50 Catholic secondary schools in the United States and for the second consecutive year, Bishop Machebeuf High School has been named to that list.
Inclusion on the honor roll requires exceptional merit in the areas of academic excellence, Catholic identity and civic education. Participation in the event is open to the nearly 1,300 Catholic high schools in operation in the country.
Machebeuf Principal Jessie Skipwith said he was proud that the school had made the list and put his thanks where it was due.
“I want to thank the students because they are the one’s who are earning us this recognition; it speaks directly to the student body,” he said. “There is great support from the faculty and administration, but it’s the students who really make it tick.”
Skipwith also mentioned, with a bit of pride, some of the achievements he’s seen bestowed on Machebeuf High School during his brief time as principal. In addition to making the Catholic High School Honor Roll twice the school has been recognized in 5280 Magazine as one of the top 15 high schools in Denver; one of last year’s seniors was accepted to the Air Force Academy; and recent graduating classes have seen better than 95 percent of their members go on to college. Skipwith added that the three areas of criteria the Catholic High School Honor Roll selection committee uses to compile their list are positively correlated with the core values at Machebeuf: devotion to God, academic excellence, community service, ethnic and cultural variety, and Christian morality.
“This is who we are,” Skipwith said. “We try to deliver this to our students in content and curriculum and encourage them to live their lives as Jesus Christ taught us to live.”
In a statement, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., called the recognition “well-deserved” and applauded the administrators, teachers, parents and students for their dedication and devotion.
“Their commitment to invest in a quality education has helped make Bishop Machebeuf Catholic High School a success,” the prelate said. “An honor like this is especially meaningful for this school which serves such a diverse population and provides opportunities to families that might not otherwise be able to provide a secondary Catholic education for their children.”
Catholic schools’ Superinten-dent Richard Thompson added his congratulations to Mache-beuf, calling the two-year streak meaningful not only for the school, but for all Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Denver.
“As we learn in Corinthians, when one part of the body has joy, we all have joy,” Thompson said. “I find joy in this for all of our Catholic schools — a testimony to excellence embodied in this honor for Bishop Machebeuf High School.”
