Brother Rice High School (Chicago)


Brother Rice High School is a Catholic, all male college preparatory institution in Chicago, Illinois administered under the Congregation of Christian Brothers. On the same block of land, directly to the east, is the all female Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, while Saint Xavier University is just to the south of Mother McAuley, and to the southeast of Brother Rice. Its enrollment is mostly drawn from local neighborhoods such as Beverly, Mt. Greenwood, West Lawn, Morgan Park, and Ashburn, as well as local suburban municipalities such as Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park, Palos Heights, Orland Park, Tinley Park, Burbank, and Alsip. The Christian Brothers of Ireland founded the school in 1956. The school's namesake is the founder of their religious order, Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice. It is affiliated with Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

School colors and seal

The school colors are maroon and orange. The maroon was taken from the maroon and gold colors of Iona College founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and in New Rochelle, New York. The orange is taken from the black and orange colors of Leo High School in Chicago, Illinois and also opened by the Christian Brothers in 1926. The Brother Rice school seal has similar design features to the seal of Iona College from New Rochelle, New York.

Academics

The school is a college preparatory school. The minimum graduation requirements for every student give them the qualifications to enter any state university in Illinois.

Honors/Advanced Placement Program

The school offers the following Advanced Placement courses: Spanish Language, French Language, U.S. History, European History, Music Theory, Chemistry, German Language, Economics, and U.S. Government.
The school also offers one of the AP Computer Science courses, but calls it AP Java without specifying whether the course is AP Computer Science 'A' or 'AB'. The school also lists an "Advanced Placement" Computer Science course using C++, though this has been discontinued by the College Board as an option in their AP program, which exclusively emphasizes Java. The school lists a single AP course which prepares students to take both the AP English Language and AP English Literature tests. The AP Calculus class permits students the option to take either the 'AB' or 'BC' AP test.
A four-semester course, open to juniors and seniors, allows CCNA certification.

Curriculum and Educational Support Committees

The Curriculum Committee and Educational Support Committee serve as advisory boards to the principal on all matters relating to educational improvement, course offerings, course changes, and overall curriculum development. This school board addresses concerns of the faculty, staff, administration, and students in efforts of academic improvement. For additional information on Brother Rice's school board visit:

Athletics

Brother Rice competes in the Chicago Catholic League, and is a member of the Illinois High School Association, the organization which governs most sports and competitive activities in the state. The team is nicknamed the Crusaders.
The school sponsors interscholastic teams in baseball, basketball, bass fishing, bowling, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, water polo, wrestling and lacrosse. While not sponsored by the IHSA, the school also sponsors teams in ice hockey and rugby. The Brother Rice rugby team has won nine state championships and one national championship since the team's formation.
The following teams have won their respective state tournaments sponsored by the IHSA:
Prior to the IHSA sponsoring water polo in 2002, Brother Rice won 13 state titles.
The Chicago Catholic League's ice hockey champion wins the Kennedy Cup, an award that has been contested since 1964; the oldest high school ice hockey prize in Illinois. Brother Rice has won this award five times.
The Prep Bowl pits the Chicago Catholic League champion versus the Chicago Public League champion, in a football game played at Soldier Field. Brother Rice has appeared in eight Prep Bowls, having won five, which is the 4th most of all-time.

Notable alumni