Jacques Ribet; Founded Private School

Jacques Ribet, founder and former headmaster of Ribet Academy college prep school, died earlier this month of respiratory failure, school officials said. He was 38.

Ribet died April 20 after a five-month illness that began with a back injury and led to a collapsed lung and pneumonia, said Marie Jones, headmaster of the 10-year-old school.

A native of Mauritius who attended the University of London, Ribet formerly taught at Hillhouse International, a British school attended by Prince Charles.

Ribet (pronounced Rib-BAY) opened his academy in 1982 in Glendale with 120 students and later moved to the La Canada Flintridge site of Foothill Intermediate School, a public school that had closed when enrollment dropped.

Today, the co-ed Ribet school has more than 500 students in kindergarten through 12th grade and is noted for strong academics as well as for its sports champions.

Ribet’s basketball team, the Fighting Frogs, has won or shared three consecutive Heritage League titles and was the Southern California Interscholastic Federation champion this year.

This fall, the academy will relocate to the site of the former Pater Noster High School in Glassell Park, an 8.5-acre campus with more room than its current site, including a football field, science labs, a large library and an assembly hall.

The nondenominational Ribet School charges tuition from $6,000 to $6,400 per year.

Ribet is survived by his mother, Jeanne Ribet, three brothers and two sisters.

A memorial service is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday at St. Andrew’s Church, 311 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. In lieu of flowers, school officials asked for contributions to a scholarship to be established at Ribet.