Alverno Heights Academy

Last updated
Alverno Heights Academy
Alverno Heights.jpg
Address
Alverno Heights Academy
200 North Michillinda Avenue

, ,
91024

United States
Coordinates 34°9′57″N118°4′0″W / 34.16583°N 118.06667°W / 34.16583; -118.06667
Information
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established1960
Head of schoolJoanne Harabedian
GradesTK-8
Enrollment250 (2022-2023)
Average class size25
Student to teacher ratio12:1
Campus size13 acres (53,000 m2)
Color(s) Royal blue and White   
Athletics conferenceCYO
SportsCross Country, Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer, Softball, and Track and Field
Nickname Jaguars
AffiliationImmaculate Heart Community
Website alvernoheightsacademy.org

Alverno Heights Academy is an independent progressive Catholic TK-8th grade elementary and middle school located in Sierra Madre, California. It was formerly an all-girls high school.

Contents

History

The school building and grounds, were part of Villa del Sol d’Oro, owned and built by Dr. Walter Jarvis Barlow and his wife Marion Brooks Barlow in 1924. Dr. Walter had architect Wallace Neff build the Italian Villa, completed in 1928. The Villa is a two-thirds scale replica of the 1534 Villa Collazzi near Florence, Italy.

1534 Villa Collazzi near Florence, Italy, inspiration for Villa del Sol d'Oro I Collazzi 1.jpg
1534 Villa Collazzi near Florence, Italy, inspiration for Villa del Sol d’Oro

The couple raise three children at the villa. Dr. Barlow was from New York and opened a tuberculosis sanatorium in Echo Park, Los Angeles in 1902, this later became the Barlow Respiratory Hospital. Dr. Barlow died in 1937 of tuberculosis. Five years after Walter died in 1942, Marion sold Villa del Sol d’Oro and its 13-acres to the Sisters of St. Francis, followers of St. Francis of Assisi. The Sisters hoped to use the Villa, now called "Provincial Center," as a convent, from which to provide education, childcare, and health care to Catholic immigrants in and around Sierra Madre. The Sisters, seeing a need for education for young women, started an all-girls high school originally called "Alverno Heights Academy," with classes beginning in 1960. The school added athletics and community service and other activities over the years. In 1978, the Sisters of St. Francis formally turned the school and property over to another religious order, the Board of the Immaculate Heart Community, the current legal sponsors of Alverno.

In 1982–83, the exterior shots for the NBC TV mini series "V" made use of the school and Villa for the Alien headquarters.

In the Summer of 2016 Lady Bird (film) was filmed at Alverno Heights Academy as a stand in for the Sacramento all girls Catholic high school St. Francis High School (Sacramento, California). [1]

In 2016 Alverno High School changed its name back to its original name Alverno Heights Academy. [2] [3]

Citing a 50% decrease in enrollment over the prior decade, the school closed its "Upper School" (high school) on June 2, 2023. The coed K-8 "Lower School" remained open. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Madre, California</span> City in California, United States

Sierra Madre is a city in Los Angeles County, California, whose population was 10,917 at the 2010 U.S. Census, up from 10,580 at the time of the 2000 U.S. Census. The city is in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley below the southern edge of the Angeles National Forest. Pasadena and Altadena are to its west, with Arcadia to its south and east. Sierra Madre is known as "Wisteria City", and its city seal is decorated with a drawing of the now widely known 500-foot (150 m) vine. It is also called the "Village of the Foothills" and was an All-America City in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of Mercy</span> Religious order

The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute has about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They also started many education and health care facilities around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances Xavier Cabrini</span> Italian-American Roman Catholic religious sister and saint

Frances Xavier Cabrini, also called Mother Cabrini, was an Italian-American Catholic religious sister. She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a religious institute that was a major support to her fellow Italian immigrants to the United States. She was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized a saint by the Catholic Church, on July 7, 1946.

Loretto may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Bosco Technical Institute</span> Private catholic all-boys secondary school in Rosemead, Los Angeles County, California

Don Bosco Technical Institute is an all-boys, private, Catholic high school in Rosemead, California, combining college-preparatory academic courses and technological education. The academic curriculum allows students to meet, or exceed, the admission requirements of the University of California, California State University and most other four-year colleges and universities throughout the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hastings Ranch, Pasadena, California</span>

Hastings Ranch is a neighborhood of Pasadena, California which lies in northeast Pasadena. It is principally accessed by Sierra Madre Boulevard, Michillinda Avenue, Hastings Ranch Blvd., and Riviera Drive. Hastings Ranch is also identified by large shopping areas at its southernmost end and by a shopping center at the corner of Sierra Madre and Michillinda. Hastings Ranch is divided by Sierra Madre Blvd, north of the blvd is Upper Hastings Ranch and south is Lower Hastings Ranch. To the north of the Ranch is the San Gabriel Mountains and Mount Wilson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary</span>

The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (I.H.M.) is a Catholic religious institute of sisters, founded by Fr. Louis Florent Gillet, CSsR, and a co-founder of the Oblate Sister of Providence, Mother Theresa Maxis Duchemin, in 1845.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School Sisters of St. Francis</span>

The School Sisters of St. Francis are an international religious congregation of Catholic sisters, part of the Third Order of Saint Francis, founded in 1874 in New Cassel, Wisconsin. The congregation’s mission covers the United States, Europe, Latin America and India.

The Franciscan Sisters of Mary is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of religious sisters based in St. Louis, Missouri, noted for its operation of SSM Health Care, a group of some 20 hospitals throughout the Midwestern United States. It was formed in 1987 from the merger of two related congregations that founded many of the hospitals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School</span> Private, coeducational school in Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School is a private Roman Catholic college-preparatory high school located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The school's name is commonly abbreviated VASJ. It was formed by the 1990 merger of Villa Angela Academy and St. Joseph High School. It is owned by the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. The school's core values are grounded in those of the religious orders which had administered the two predecessor schools: the Society of Mary (Marianists) and the Ursulines.

St. Francis Catholic High School is a four-year, all-female college preparatory high school in Sacramento, California, United States. It is one of four Catholic high schools in Sacramento affiliated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, and draws students from over fifty private and public feeder schools in the California counties of Sacramento, Yolo, El Dorado and Placer. The school was established in 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Joseph Academy (San Marcos, California)</span> Private, coeducational school in San Marcos, , California, United States

St. Joseph Academy is a traditional Roman Catholic K–12 school located in San Marcos, CA. Its stated mission is "to transform human society through the most effective means possible, namely through training the youth in faith, reason, and virtue". The school is operated independent of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego and is the only school located within the Diocese that offers a complete K-12 education. St. Joseph Academy has been named by the Catholic High School Honor Roll as one of the top 50 Catholic High Schools in the United States for three consecutive years and carries a 99% college matriculation rate. The school is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges accredited school and formally approved by the Diocese of San Diego.

Christian Brothers High School is a private, Catholic, college-preparatory high school in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento, California. It is located within the Diocese of Sacramento and was founded by the De La Salle Christian Brothers in 1876. As of 2021, the school enrolled 1,150 students drawn from approximately 75 local parochial, private, and public elementary and middle schools.

The Horizon League is a high school athletic league that is part of the CIF Southern Section. Members are all-girls Roman Catholic college preparatory schools located western San Gabriel Valley, Glendale, mid-city and Lincoln Heights neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Corona Wirfs</span> American nun and educator (1886–1964)

Mary Corona Wirfs was an American nun, educator, administrator, and Superior General of the School Sisters of St. Francis. Wirfs worked behind the scenes to build and staff two hospitals and two high schools, and organized staffing for approximately 37 schools and hospitals. From her initial election in 1942 until her death in 1964, she worked for Catholic school education at the elementary, high school, and college education levels. Mother Corona, as she was called in her order, was "a builder, administrator, spiritual guide advisor, and Major Superior from 1942–1960".

References

  1. "Filming Locations for Lady Bird (2017), in California". The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  2. "alvernoheightsacademy.org, About". Archived from the original on 2017-06-30. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
  3. alvernoheightsacademy.org, History
  4. "Alverno Heights Academy Upper School Will Close Its Doors in June". Pasadena Now. Retrieved 22 February 2023.