Austin Preparatory School

Austin Preparatory School is a co-educational Catholic school located in Reading, Massachusetts. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1961. The institution is colloquially referred to as Austin Prep and serves students in grades 6-12.HistoryThough founded in 1961, Austin Prep enrolled its first students in September 1963.The School was founded by members of the Order of Saint Augustine, Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova. Since 1973 the School has been operated by a lay Board of Trustees, and is a fully incorporated, not for profit, 501-C3 organization. The Augustinians continued to serve formally at Austin Prep until 1992. There are no Augustinian friars currently on the faculty; however, the present staff does include one diocesan priest as Chaplin.In 1987 Austin opened a Middle School Program, and further expanded in 1992 by admitting young women to become fully co-educational. The current enrollment (2010–2011) of 700 students is almost equally divided between young men and women. The Middle School enrolls roughly 200 students and the Upper School enrolls approximately 500 students.DemographicsStudents commute to Austin from over 50 towns from the northern suburban communities of Boston reaching north through the Merrimack Valley Region and North Shore communities and also southern New Hampshire.