The 1975-76 school year marked a significant turning point in the history of Prep—the admission of girls. For over 80 years, Prep had been known as an all-boys school. This new change ultimately enriched the Prep community.
When the decision to make Prep co-ed was first announced, the school got mixed feedback. Coach Scott described that “there were two reactions. First, it was, “Oh boy, girls are coming. How exciting.” And then there was “Wait a minute that’s 100 years of tradition gone.”
Even the Jesuit priests grappled with how to respond to this new addition. The school also faced challenges from families who switched to O’Dea after years at Prep.
According to Coach Scott, “It was quite a change,” but a necessary one. He continued to explain that “Going co-ed probably meant the survival of Prep, as it did a lot of schools”. As society was evolving, fewer families were choosing to send their sons to Jesuit, all-boys schools. Prep began to realize that they needed to focus on the future, not the history of the past.
In September of ‘75, Prep successfully transitioned to a co-ed model. While the first graduating class had only four women, their numbers grew rapidly in later years. Female students quickly began to participate in clubs and extracurriculars. The staff also worked hard to ensure equality for all students.
Alongside the admission of female students, Prep also began to hire women onto the staff. In 1974, there were only three women on the staff-the principal’s assistant, a librarian, and a Spanish teacher. While at first there were only three female staff members-the principal’s assistants, a librarian, and a Spanish teacher- in subsequent years women began to teach a variety of subjects.
Women’s sports were integrated into Prep quickly, with basketball, volleyball, and cross-country teams established in the first year. Notably, cheerleading emerged as the most popular female sport, with varsity, JV, and freshman cheer teams starting within the first year. They also added a girls’ dance team, which used to be called the Panther Express. “The girls were winning everything” Coach Scott explained, “They were doing great”.
Despite this, some changes were more difficult to implement into Prep. Coach Scott revealed that “at first there wasn’t a women’s locker room, so the [women’s] locker room [Prep had] for years until they remodeled it…was the old cafeteria”. Since it was not designed to be a locker room, it was very small and not remodeled until recently.
Coach Scott reflected that girls ultimately made Prep a better community and school. The school has come a long way from when the first few girls joined. Coach Scott explained that he “started meeting kids here that said my mom went to Prep, which was just realizing we’ve come full circle”.
