Prep Talk

History of the School

St. Augustine Prep was founded in 1959 by the Augustinian Order as a minor seminary to help young men prepare for studies in the priesthood and religious life. The first class was a mixture of seminarians and regular day students.

The first graduating class was in 1963. The school’s first Headmaster was Fr. Peter Toscani, OSA. There were 12 students in that class. The school expanded gradually. The first school building (rooms 1 thru 4 and a gymnasium) opened in the fall of 1960. The first expansion included the western wing of the main building in 1967-68. A new gym was constructed in 1979-80 and the former gym was converted into classrooms and a chapel. The expansion was overseen by Fr. Stephen LaRosa, OSA who for many years was the guiding force of the school. The population of the school hovered between 150 to 210 students for many years.

The third expansion of facilities was the construction of the Arts and Sciences Building in 1998. This construction was overseen by Fr. Paul Galetto, OSA the current President. From that expansion until now, enrollment has grown from 235 to 650. A minor renovation which replaced the chapel with additional classrooms took place in 2000.

Currently the Prep has nearly 2000 alumni. A major building project was completed in 2008 that increased enrollment to 650. The Prep attracts students from all over the South Jersey area and has become competitive in its admissions process.

The Prep owes a debt of gratitude to the many lay faculty members who have through the years helped our students become Christian Gentlemen: John Aleli, Anthony Spina, Gene Lepore, Frank Garufi, Joe Mancuso, John Mahoney and many others. If you know a story about the history of the Prep, please forward it to us and we will include it on this page.