Mission Statement

Archbishop Alter High School is a co-educational, comprehensive Catholic school that is committed to challenging students to reach their full potential by providing academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment.

Core Belief Statements

We believe in the God given dignity of each person.

We strive to develop the whole person: physically, emotionally, intellectually, morally, and spiritually.

We are committed to cultivating servant leaders.

We believe a diverse community expresses the fullness of the Body of Christ.

History

In October of 1958, the Catholic people of the Dayton area pledged $4,953,050 to defray the cost of building Catholic High Schools in the Dayton area. One of the schools built with the contributions was Archbishop Alter High School in Kettering.  The Most Reverend Paul F. Leibold, then Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati, laid the cornerstone. At the request of the people of Dayton, this fifth Catholic high school was named after the fifth ordinary of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, the Most Reverend Karl J. Alter. The Archbishop was appointed Bishop of Toledo and consecrated on June 17, 1931. In 1950 he was appointed to the See of Cincinnati and served until his retirement in 1969. He died in August, 1977.

Reverend Edward F. Haskamp was appointed the first principal on January 3, 1962.  Sister Eleanor Marie Salm, SC, was the first vice principal.  Father Haskamp and five Sisters of Charity supervised the final stages of the construction of the school and Alter opened its doors for the first class of freshmen on September 5, 1962.  Archbishop Karl J. Alter formally dedicated the school on September 30.

Thanks to the commitment and generosity of those who believed in Alter High School fifty years ago, over 10,000 young men and women have taken their places in this world with all the confidence and character needed to fulfill the life God intended for each of them.

Since that first day, we have been sustained by the same spirit that built Alter High, a spirit found in people who have faith in our mission and choose to give back to a place that has special meaning to them.