Catholic Central High School

Grand Rapids , MI
Grades
9th-12th Grade
Catholic Central High School Building

Founded in 1906, Catholic Central is the oldest co-educational diocesan Catholic high school in the nation. We are proud to provide the right education, right downtown in the Heartside neighborhood, a culturally rich environment where our students learn to live out the Dominican pillars: prayer, study, community, service. This is our home, and we have been committed to this neighborhood for over eleven decades.
 
At Catholic Central, students find the right mix of high academic standards, individual attention, and opportunities to engage in a full spectrum of student life activities, from arts and athletics to clubs and organizations. 

Our house system celebrates community and tradition, bringing students together in new and different ways than typical high schools. Parents and students love the supportive, family-like environment found in the CC community and across our campus.

You will find, as over 18,000 living alumni will attest, there is something for everyone at Catholic Central. We are a school big enough to serve you, yet small enough to know you. Here, you’ll find ample opportunities to become your best self, surrounded by a community that believes it’s always “A Great Day to be a Cougar!”

Mission 

Catholic Central High is an inclusive community rooted in the Catholic faith that prepares servant leaders for a Christ-centered life. 

Academics

At Catholic Central, students are exposed to the highest-quality college preparatory curriculum in an academic environment built on faith, collaboration, and individualized support of every student. We strive to develop our students in every way: physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. We are proud to be the first STEM certified high school in Michigan.

What are our results?  Accomplished, mature graduates who become the next generation of leaders and servants in higher education, the workplace, and their communities.

Faith

Finding meaning in life is both a challenge and an opportunity. We believe that real meaning only comes through an unwavering, faith-filled relationship with Jesus Christ and a desire to serve others. Empowered by their faith, Catholic Central students develop their minds, talents, and passions, and enter the greater world ready to transform it.
 
Students engage in and enrich our Catholic culture through retreats, service opportunities, prayer experiences, pilgrimages, eucharistic adoration, and weekly Mass in the Cathedral of Saint Andrew. Through our unifying school prayer, The Memorare, our community of young people understand, in a very profound way, that God exists in our school and that we encounter him through each other, the sacraments, Scripture, prayer, and the ordinary activities of our daily lives. 

Extracurriculars

Catholic Central takes a holistic view of student life, understanding that the spiritual, physical, and artistic gifts must be cultivated alongside intellectual development. Students have many ways to be involved outside of the classroom, from co-curricular activities and club activities to sports and club teams to fine and performing arts. In addition, Catholic Central uniquely offers a house system to provide an intentional structure for students to connect and belong to an ‘immediate family’ with the greater CC community.