Alumni Night at St. Leo High School
On Friday, January 29, 2016 Leo High School played St. Laurence in a Chicago Catholic League basketball game. It was Alumni night at Leo High School unfortunately they lost the game 58 to 67, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the alums or students at the game.
Leo High School was established in 1926 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and is named in the honor of Pope Leo XIII. The Christian Brothers also founded Brother Rice and St. Laurence High Schools on the south side of Chicago. All three high schools have educated an all-male student body in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago and are now mostly African American. The Catholic League of High Schools continue to provide a vital role in educating inner city Chicago youth.
Talking with alumni at the game, it is clear that funding of schools such as Leo, St. Laurence and Brother Rice is always at the top of their list. Donations are accepted of course, but there is a real need to establish a more reliable source of money to continue and expand their education services. Schools such as Leo pick up a heavy load in a neighborhood such as Englewood. But when you walk around Leo it is striking the level of investment that is needed to bring the school up to the standard that is taken for granted in many suburban schools. The inequality of access to education in the state of Illinois is our top social problem.
For a while all of the above issues were put aside for an age old basketball rivalry between two south side schools. The following pictures were taken from that night at Leo High School:
Leo High School was established in 1926 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and is named in the honor of Pope Leo XIII. The Christian Brothers also founded Brother Rice and St. Laurence High Schools on the south side of Chicago. All three high schools have educated an all-male student body in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago and are now mostly African American. The Catholic League of High Schools continue to provide a vital role in educating inner city Chicago youth.
Talking with alumni at the game, it is clear that funding of schools such as Leo, St. Laurence and Brother Rice is always at the top of their list. Donations are accepted of course, but there is a real need to establish a more reliable source of money to continue and expand their education services. Schools such as Leo pick up a heavy load in a neighborhood such as Englewood. But when you walk around Leo it is striking the level of investment that is needed to bring the school up to the standard that is taken for granted in many suburban schools. The inequality of access to education in the state of Illinois is our top social problem.
For a while all of the above issues were put aside for an age old basketball rivalry between two south side schools. The following pictures were taken from that night at Leo High School: