St. Francis Preparatory School

St. Francis Preparatory School, commonly known as St. Francis Prep, is a private, independent Catholic college preparatory school in Fresh Meadows, Queens, New York City, New York. It is the largest non-diocesan Catholic high school in the United States. St. Francis is run by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, who maintain a residence on the top floor of the school. As of the 2015–16 school year, enrollment at St. Francis was 2,489. History St. Francis Preparatory originated as St. Francis Academy, a small all-boys high school on 300 Baltic Street in Brooklyn, New York, founded by the Franciscans Brothers of Brooklyn (O.S.F.). The college section became St. Francis College, a private predominantly undergraduate college in Brooklyn Heights. It took its current name in 1935, then moved to a larger facility in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1952. The school moved to its current location in Fresh Meadows, Queens in 1974 when it acquired the facility that formerly housed Bishop Reilly High School, a co-educational Catholic high school. The school began admitting female students that same year. A fitness center was added recently and the science labs are being updated. There are currently plans to add a three-story addition to the rear of the existing building. The upgrades to the art rooms will support students in the studio, digital and the performing arts. Co-curricular activities and athletics St. Francis Prep has a rivalry with Holy Cross High School, fueled particularly by their football teams. Known as the "Battle of the Boulevard" due to the two schools being located only 2 miles apart on Francis Lewis Boulevard, the rivalry between the Prep Terriers and the Holy Cross Knights has been called "arguably the greatest rivalry in New York City football."