Francis Libermann Catholic High School

Since the openings of Neil McNeil High School (founded by the Spiritan Fathers) in 1958, John J. Lynch High School in 1963 and Cardinal Newman High School in 1973, most of northern Scarborough is underdeveloped before the 1970s. However, the area is served by several existing high schools: Agincourt Collegiate Institute, Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute, Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute, and nearby Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute with the latter opened the year prior. Francis Libermann Catholic High School was founded in 1977 under the direction of the Spiritan order and the Metropolitan Separate School Board, with Father John Geary CSSp as principal. Originally, Libermann was intended to be a middle school in the city of Toronto. The idea for the school usage was changed after the school was built and instead to be used by students of grades 9 to OAC. The building was constructed in 1977 but was given its first enlarged, permanent three-storey building in 1981 to include multiple classrooms, a library, a wood shop and a double gymnasium/auditorium. Because this design accommodated a more petite student body, the school had to deal with perpetual overcrowding, requiring the construction of additions and alterations. Portables were built for the surplus of students. Over many years, the school underwent additional construction projects such as expanding the gymnasium, adding an annex, and adding an entirely new section containing an office, atrium and cafeteria, most notably in 2006. From the beginning, Libermann was mainly a private school, with the MSSB assuming the responsibility for educating grade 9 and 10 students. From 1985 onwards, in the aftermath of the government announcement of the total funding of Roman Catholic high schools, Libermann ceased as a private school. The MSSB now has complete control of the school, with the Spiritans withdrawing day-to-day operations. In 1986, the school had 1,100 students and 63 full-time staff members. During that year the school was overcrowded with students as it served an area of Scarborough with many new students. To resolve these issues, staff members devised a schedule involving required study halls for students with spare periods and separated up and down staircases. Only 100 or so students could be seated at the cafeteria during lunch hours, and the remainder had to eat lunches at their desks. The overcrowding resulted in the MSSB establishing two new schools in the northern Scarborough area in 1985: Mary Ward in Steeles/Willowdale using two campuses and Mother Teresa in Malvern. In the summer of 2018, 2 additional portables were built due to increased enrolment. == Overview ==