Cretin-Derham Hall High School

Cretin-Derham Hall High School
Location
550 South Albert Street

Saint Paul, Minnesota

United States
Coordinates44°55′30″N 93°09′29″W / 44.925°N 93.158°W / 44.925; -93.158
Information
TypePrivate co-ed Catholic high school
Religious affiliationRoman Catholic
Established
  • 1871 – Cretin High School
  • 1905 – Derham Hall
  • 1987 – Cretin-Derham Hall
Founder
OversightArchdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
PresidentJeb Myers[1]
PrincipalMona Passman[1]
Grades9–12
GenderCoeducational
Enrollment860[3] (2025)
Campus typeResidential Urban
Colors  Purple
  Gold
  White
SongC-DH Alma Mater
Athletics conferenceSuburban East
Team nameRaiders
RivalSaint Thomas Academy Cadets
AccreditationNorth Central Association of Colleges and Schools[2]
NewspaperThe Chronicle
YearbookGemini
Feeder schools
  • Nativity of Our Lord,
  • Holy Spirit,
  • Highland Catholic,
  • St. Joseph's of West St. Paul
Websitecretin-derhamhall.org

Cretin-Derham Hall High School (CDH) is a private, co-educational Catholic high school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Operated by the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, it is co-sponsored by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

Cretin High School was named for Joseph Crétin, the first Catholic bishop of Saint Paul, while Derham Hall High School was named for Hugh Derham, a Minnesota farmer who donated money to start an all-female Catholic boarding school.

History

The present-day Cretin-Derham Hall is the result of the 1987 merger of Cretin High School and Derham Hall. The origins of Cretin High School begin at the second cathedral of the diocese, where the Cathedral School operated out of the basement.[4]: 357  Bishop John Ireland had long been asking for the Christian Brothers to come operate the Cathedral School. In 1871, after the Great Chicago Fire destroyed two Christian Brothers schools, two brothers moved to Minnesota and took charge of the Cathedral School.[4]: 358  When the second cathedral was badly damaged and demolished after a fire in 1886, a new building in downtown Saint Paul was constructed. Around that time, while still formally called Cathedral School, it began to be informally called Cretin High School or Cretin Hall after its auditorium.[4]: 359  The building became inadequate for the institution's needs, and in 1926 Cretin High School moved to a site on Laurel and Mackubin Streets. The current building, at Hamline and Randolph, opened in 1928, built with a gift from the widow of James J. Hill.[5]

In the late 1800s, the school incorporated a mandatory program of instruction grounded in the tradition of a military institute, which makes it one of the oldest such programs in the United States. Instruction included lessons in leadership, close-order drill and ceremonies, and numerous other strictly non-combat-related instruction designed to instill a sense of discipline and order in all aspects of student life. The National Defense Act of 1916 created the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), a more formal program of instruction with national oversight for training standards and a provision for active duty and retired soldiers and officers as instructors. Cretin's "military program" became one of the first Junior ROTC (JROTC) programs in the country, and participation remained mandatory for all students until the early 1980s, when it became voluntary.[6][7]

In 1905, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet established Derham Hall as a college preparatory school for girls in Derham Hall, on the campus of St. Catherine University (then the College of St. Catherine).[8] In 1987, the two merged to become Cretin-Derham Hall, a co-educational institution. The original building on the St. Catherine campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[9]

Athletics

Cretin-Derham Hall is part of the Suburban East Conference[10] in the Minnesota State High School League. Before joining the Suburban East Conference, Cretin-Derham Hall played in the Saint Paul City Conference for 26 years. The Raiders won their tenth state football championship in 2009, defeating Eden Prairie in the title game. They won their third state basketball championship in 2018, defeating Apple Valley in the title game.

State championships

List of Cretin-Derham Hall athletics state championships won
Season Sport Number Years Ref.
Fall Cross country, Boys 1 1975 [11]
Football 2 1999, 2009 [12]
Winter Hockey, Boys 1 2006 [13]
Basketball, Girls 1 1999 [14]
Basketball, Boys 3 1991, 1993, 2018 [15]
Spring Baseball 12 1981, 1982, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2007, 2025 [16]
Total 20

Theater

Cretin-Derham Hall has a both a co-curricular and an extracurricular theater program. The Cretin-Derham Hall theater department once won the Minnesota State High School League One Act Competition, but no longer participates.[17]

In 2005, the theater department was one of about 20 schools invited to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland. The invitation was "based on their most recent bodies of work, awards, community involvement, philosophies, and recommendations".[18]

The 2009 spring musical, Crazy for You, won an Outstanding awards for Overall Production of a Musical, Performance by a Chorus Ensemble, Performance by a Dance Ensemble, and two for Performances in a Leading Role from Spotlight Musical Theatre Awards. In addition, three Honorable Mentions were given to Performance in a Lead Role, Performance in a Supporting Role, and Performance in a Featured Role.[19]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ a b "Leadership and Governance". Cretin-Derham Hall. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  2. ^ NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
  3. ^ "Welcome to Cretin-Derham Hall". Cretin-Derham Hall. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c O'Connell, Marvin Richard (2009). Pilgrims to the Northland: the Archdiocese of St. Paul, 1840-1962. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press. ISBN 9780268037291.
  5. ^ "Cretin-Derham Hall :: History & Traditions". Cretin-Derham Hall. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  6. ^ Cretin High School Year Books. Cretin-Derham Hall School Grounds.
  7. ^ "United States Army Junior ROTC". Archived from the original on February 8, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  8. ^ Derham Hall Archived June 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, St. Catherine University Library, Accessed August 9, 2009.
  9. ^ Nord, Mary Ann (2003). The National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society. ISBN 0-87351-448-3.
  10. ^ "Suburban East Conference". www.suburbaneast.org. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  11. ^ "Boys Cross Country State Meet Team and Individual Champions" (PDF). Minnesota State High School League. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  12. ^ "State Football Playoff Championship Games – 1972-2021" (PDF). Minnesota State High School League. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  13. ^ "State Hockey Tournament Place Winners - 1945-2022" (PDF). Minnesota State High School League. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  14. ^ "State Girls Basketball Championship Games 1974-2022" (PDF). Minnesota State High School League. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  15. ^ "State Boys' Basketball Tournament Championship Games – 1913-2022" (PDF). Minnesota State High School League. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  16. ^ "State Baseball Tournament Winners – 1947-2022" (PDF). Minnesota State High School League. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  17. ^ "Welcome to the Minnesota State High School League". mshsl.org.
  18. ^ "American High School Theatre Festival". Archived from the original on August 23, 2006. Retrieved August 15, 2006.
  19. ^ "Welcome to Cretin-Derham Hall". cretin-derhamhall.org.
  20. ^ "Brandon Archer". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  21. ^ NFL Players,Matt Birk Bio
  22. ^ "Iowa Archbishop Retires". The New York Times. September 1, 1983. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  23. ^ "Archdiocese of Dubuque: History". www.dbqarch.org. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  24. ^ Rathbun, Andy (April 5, 2009). "Obituary / Thomas Byrne, 85, a former mayor of St. Paul, worked for a human rights ordinance, the return of St. Pat's parade". Pioneer Press. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  25. ^ Callaghan, Peter. "Coleman won't seek 4th term as mayor in 2017; what he'll do in '18, he's not ready to say". MinnPost. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  26. ^ "Ohio State Gets Commitments For Justin Hilliard And Jashon Cornell". eScoutRoom.
  27. ^ "Ian Anthony Dale '96". cretin-derhamhall.org.
  28. ^ "St. Paul native Ian Anthony Dale gets advice from cop brother for TNT show". St. Paul Pioneer Press. July 5, 2014.
  29. ^ Minnesota Legislators: Past & Present-John Michael Drexler
  30. ^ "Bob Sansevere on and on with Jake Esch". TwinCities.com. June 8, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
  31. ^ Minnesota Public Radio, Joe Mauer Bio
  32. ^ "Lt. Col. Paul "Max" Moga : Military Channel : Discovery Press Web".
  33. ^ a b c USA Today, Sports Players from Cretin-Derham Hall, June 28, 2001
  34. ^ Greder, Andy (February 4, 2019). "Gophers: Before basketball in Woodbury, Oturus were playing ping pong in Nigeria". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  35. ^ Minnesota legislators: Past & Present-Robert W. "Bob" Reif
  36. ^ American Catholic History Research Center Archived May 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  37. ^ "Astronaut Bio: H. Stefanyshyn-Piper (2/2009)". nasa.gov. February 11, 2015.
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