Ursuline Academy (New Orleans)

Ursuline Academy
Location
2635 State Street New Orleans , Louisiana 70118 United States
Coordinates	29°56′27.5″N90°6′48.27″W / 29.940972°N 90.1134083°W / 29.940972; -90.1134083
Information
Type	Private, All-Girls
Motto	Serviam ("I will serve")
Religious affiliation	Catholic
Established	1727;298 years ago (1727)
President	Laurie Eichelberger Leiva
Teaching staff	53.0 (FTE) (2019–20) [1]
Grades	T2–12
Gender	Female
Enrollment	563 [1]  (2019–20)
Student to teacher ratio	9.7 (2019–20) [1]
Colors	Navy and White
Sports	Basketball, Volleyball, Softball, Golf, Swimming, Soccer, Cross Country, Dance, Cheer, Tennis, Track & Field, Indoor Track, Gymnastics
Mascot	Lions
Accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools [2] [3]
Tuition	$12,585 + $1,850 fees = $14,435 (2023-24, high school)
Principal (ES)	Sue Heidel
Principal(HS)	Sue Heidel
Website	www.uanola.org

Courtyard

Ursuline Academy is a private, Catholic, all-girls high school and elementary school (Toddler 2 through 12th grade) in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is located within the Archdiocese of New Orleans and under the trusteeship of the Ursuline Sisters of the New Orleans Community, part of the Ursuline Central Province of North America. Founded in 1727, the Academy is the oldest Catholic school and the oldest school for women in the United States.

Ursuline Academy main entrance

History

The Ursuline Academy was founded in 1727 by the Sisters of the Order of Saint Ursula, in New Orleans. It is the oldest continuously-operating school for girls, and the oldest Catholic school in the United States. ^[4]

The Academy included the first convent, the first free school, and the first retreat center for ladies. It offered the first classes for female African-American slaves, free women of color, and Native Americans. ^[4]

National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, on the Ursuline campus

Academics

An Ursuline education is based on the philosophy of Saint Angela Merici. ^[4]

Traditions

Rally began in 1948 as a way for classes to show their school spirit in the areas of volleyball intramurals, through skits, posters, songs, and cheers. Each class was given a name (Skip, Mac, Leprechaun or Sioux (now Phoenix)) to replace existing sororities on campus and carried them until they graduated and passed them on to a little sister class. ^{[5] [6]}

Athletics

Ursuline Academy athletics competes in the LHSAA.

Notable alumnae

• Lurita Doan, administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Mary Landrieu, US Senator^{[ citation needed ]}
• E'myri Crutchfield, actress ^[7]

See also

• History of the Ursulines in New Orleans

References

1. "Search for Private Schools – School Detail for Ursuline Academy". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved July 24, 2023.
2. "Institution Summary [for Ursuline Academy Elementary School]". AdvancED . Retrieved May 18, 2014.
3. "Institution Summary [for Ursuline Academy]". AdvancED . Retrieved May 18, 2014.
4. Robenstine, Clark (Summer 1992). "French Colonial Policy and the Education of Women and Minorities: Louisiana in the Early Eighteenth Century". History of Education Quarterly . 32 (2): 193–211. doi:10.2307/368985. ISSN   0018-2680. JSTOR   368985. S2CID   147109780.
5. "Origins of Rally". Ursuline Academy. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
6. "Message from the Academy President – Karen McNay". Ursuline Update. Ursuline Academy. October 29, 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
7. Clarion Herald Staff (June 9, 2018). "Ursuline Academy conducts 291st commencement exercises" (PDF). eCatholic.com. Clarion Herald. Retrieved September 25, 2025.

Notes

• Clark, Emily, ed. (2009). Voices from an Early American Convent: Marie Madeleine Hachard and the New Orleans Ursulines, 1727–1760. Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN   978-0-8071-3446-7. OCLC   824539478.

External links

• School website
• Ursuline Academy (ursulineneworleans.org) at the Wayback Machine (archive index)