Mater Dei Prep: A CatholicPreparatory School is a four-year Catholic coeducational high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the New Monmouth section of Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. Mater Dei is no longer part of St. Mary Parish and operates under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton. The school has been accredited by AdvancED since June 2013 and is a member of the National Catholic Educational Association. In February 2015, the pastor of St. Mary Parish announced that the school would be closing at the end of the 2014-15 school year, in the wake of chronic fiscal deficits. A few days after the announcement, it was disclosed that the Parish Finance Council had agreed to a two-month extension in order to raise the $1 million needed to remain open. Through the Seraph's Fund, and massive efforts by the student body, $1.5 million was raised in just six weeks, and the school managed to stay open. As of the 2017-18 school year, the school had an enrollment of 322 students and 27.5 classroom teachers. The school's student body is 77.6% White, 11.2% Black, 5.9% Asian and 5.6% Hispanic.
The school was founded in 1961 by the Reverend Monsignor Robert T. Bulman and is located on a small portion of the parish's campus. The school attracts students from over 30 parochial, private, and public schools in Monmouth County and Middlesex County. The school maintains an average enrollment of 435 students in grades nine through twelve. The virtual learning program began in 2005 and ended in 2010. Virtual learning classes included all levels, including Advanced Placement, in Math, Foreign Languages as well as History. The school is best known as "Mater Dei High School"
Athletics
The Mater Dei Prep Seraphs competes in the Shore Conference, which includes public and parochial high schools covering Monmouth County and Ocean County in Central Jersey. The conference operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. The football team won the Non-Public Group II state sectional championship in 2016, winning by a score of 26-20 in the tournament final against Holy Spirit High School on a touchdown scored on a hook and lateral play with 11 seconds left in the game. In 2018, the boys' winter track team finished their season with the program's first state indoor relay championship title and was runner-up in the Non-Public B state championships. In outdoor track, the team set numerous school records and took home both a sectional title and their second consecutive Non-Public B group state title in June 2018. The team has won the Non-Public B state championship in 1967, 1973, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2017 and 2018.
