Saint Benedict at Auburndale

St. Benedict at Auburndale

File:SBA logo.JPG
Established	1966
School type	High School
Principal	Mr. George Valadie
Students	1000
Location	Memphis, Tennessee
Website	St. Benedict at Auburndale

St. Benedict at Auburndale High School is a Roman Catholic high school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis. The school teaches grades 9-12 in Cordova, Tennessee and offers special programs for students requiring special learning programs. The school colors are red and blue. The school mascot is the Eagle.

It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and a charter member of the National Catholic Education Association. The school is located on a forty-seven acre campus in northeast Shelby County.

History

The school was founded in 1966 as The Auburndale School System by Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Smith. The Smiths had long been interested in developing an academic environment where children with all levels of learning ability could be educated on the same campus.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith sold the Auburndale System to the Catholic Diocese of Memphis in 1988, and St. Benedict at Auburndale opened its doors as a new 4K-12 diocesan school in the fall of 1988.

In July, 2004, St. Francis of Assisi Church acquired governance of grades 8 and below and assumed the name of St. Francis of Assisi School. The high school moved into a new campus facility on adjoining property.

Records from previous schools, placement tests, student interviews, and visitations by prospective students are used to evaluate applicants' probabilities for success in the St. Benedict at Auburndale program.

Drug Testing

Saint Benedict at Auburndale (SBA) drugs tests every student at least once a year with a sample of a students hair. The testing started during the 2003-2004 school year.

The following is from the Saint Benedict at Auburndale Student Handbook:

We are not immune. Our school is not and our students are not. And all that’s out there in the world scares us more than we’d like to admit. We at St. Benedict at Auburndale are participating in this drug testing program for one PRIMARY purpose ... to provide our students with yet one more reason they can draw upon when faced with choosing for or against drugs. Some are able to make that choice on their own without any fear at all of social pressure or peer ramifications. But some are not. And we hope that this program will ease their decision-making. The Process During the course of each school year, all students will be selected to be tested at least one time, though the order of testing will be random. SBA has chosen a test that uses a small sample of a student’s hair. Once selected and tested, each student’s name is returned to the pool for possible testing again in the same school year. (Actually, each student will be assigned a code number to insure confidentiality with the testing.) A percentage of the student body (approximately 25%) will be randomly selected for additional testing in the same school year. Any family that refuses to be tested will be immediately dismissed from SBA.