A history of Cascia Hall Preparatory School: A Catholic, Augustinian school in Tulsa, Oklahoma (1924--2006).

Abstract

The Augustinian Tradition of Education dates back to St. Augustine (354-430 A.D.) himself as an educator and philosopher of the late fourth and early fifth century. Friars from the Augustinian Order (founded in 1244) were part of the first great universities of Europe such as Cambridge, Oxford, Paris, Bologna, and many others in Spain, Germany and throughout Europe. In 1553, an Augustinian founded the University of Mexico. In the late 1700's, the Irish Augustinians came to the United States and established parochial schools, secondary schools, and tertiary schools, the first being Villanova University in 1842. Today the Augustinian Order has educational institutions in more than twenty-five countries. The Augustinian Secondary Educational Association (ASEA) has eight middle/high schools in the United States and one in Ontario, Canada that make up its membership.

In 1924, Bishop Francis Clement Kelley, recently named Bishop of Oklahoma, invited the Augustinians to open a Catholic school for boys in Tulsa. Provincial, Very Rev. Nicholas J. Vasey, O.S.A. sent the President of Villanova, Rev. Francis A. Driscoll, O.S.A. to explore this possibility. The rest is history. The Augustinians have owned and operated Cascia Hall Preparatory School in Tulsa, Oklahoma since these humble beginnings. The history of Cascia Hall is primarily a history of the Augustinians and those who have assisted them, both Catholic and non-Catholic, in this educational endeavor as well as those who have attended this educational institution. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

A History of Cascia Hall Preparatory School: A Catholic, Augustinian School in Tulsa, Oklahoma (1924-2006) begins with a review of the Philosophy of Education of St. Augustine of Hippo and the development of the Augustinian School throughout the centuries leading to the arrival of the Augustinians in the United States. A brief overview of the history of Catholic Education in the United States with specific emphasis given to the westward expansion of the Augustinian School in the early 1900's will be presented. One of the schools established during this expansion was Cascia Hall Preparatory School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.