Mater Dei High School, established in 1950, is located in Santa Ana, Orange County, California. Mater Dei is the largest Catholic high school west of Chicago. Mater Dei is co-educational and has a diverse enrollment of 2,200 students from every city in Orange County as well as surrounding counties. It is known for having one of the top high school athletic programs in the nation and since 1990 their teams have won 28 CIF, 7 state, and 2 national athletic championships. Their mascot is the Monarch (lion). Its students are involved in athletics, community service, religious activities, and extracurriculars.
Statistics:
Religious Background:
86% Catholic; 14% represent a variety of other faiths
Cultural Backround:
59% Caucasian; 23% Latino; 14% Asian; 1%Pacific Islander; 2% African American; 1% Native American
60% of student body attended Catholic elementary school; 18% attended private school
14 AP and 17 Honors classes; 40% enrolled in AP or Honors classes
99% continue on to college; 88% qualify for a four-year college
2004 SAT scores: 89% took the SAT; 532 average verbal, 541 average math
Up to 30% receive $750,000 annually in need-based tuition assistance
100% of student body complete at least 80 hours of community service prior to graduation and the Class of 2004 completed nearly 65,000 volunteer hours at hundreds of organizations
In October 2004, Mater Dei's head football coach, Bruce Rollinson, received ABC7 / NFL High School Coach of the Week for Southern California.
On December 11,2004 Mater Dei alumnus and quarterback for USC Matt Leinart joined John Huarte, former quarterback for the University of Notre Dame, to become the school's second Heisman trophy winner.
As of 2004 and 2005, Mater Dei is going through a lot of construction on its new sports facility.
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