Students at St. Cecilia Academy

Cheers rose up in Nashville and Baltimore where Academies run by the Dominican Sisters were recognized among the best 50 Catholic high schools in the nation. St. Cecilia Academy and Mount de Sales Academy are institutions run by the Congregation with a long history of achievements and a tangible spirit of vibrancy with the Faith as its motive and source.
 

Sister Mary Leonard with Mount de Sales students

The first annual “Catholic High School Honor Roll” recognizes the nation’s top 50 high schools based on their demonstrated commitment to academic excellence, Catholic identity, and civic education. In addition to the Top 50 list, the Honor Roll also published the finalists in these three categories, and St. Cecilia Academy was among the top 20 finalists in the category of Catholic identity. Both institutions are the oldest operating schools on the Honor Roll list: St Cecilia Academy was founded in 1860 and Mount de Sales Academy in 1852 (the Dominican Sisters have served at the Academy since 1985).

The primary goal of the Honor Roll is to encourage Catholic high schools to educate their students as effectively as possible, in a way that integrates Catholic faith and prepares students for active engagement with the world. According to an Honor Roll advisory board member, this award “draws attention to schools that are contributing in extraordinary ways to the moral and intellectual formation of young people.” According to the Honor Roll’s director: “What is common to all of the schools is outstanding commitment to the educational mission of the Church.” This award is sponsored by the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For more information, see the Catholic High School Honor Roll Web site at www.chshonor.org.
 

Sister Tia Calvo, graduate, Saint Cecilia Academy—“Looking back on my time at Saint Cecilia Academy I realize I received much more than just excellent academic preparation. I learned the value of discipline in and outside of the classroom and the importance of truth. St. Cecilia Academy gave me room to grow in my relationship with God as well as room to develop into my own person. St. Cecilia Academy taught me the true beauty and dignity of womanhood and thus prepared me not only for college but for life.”

Sister Grace Dominic, graduate, Mount de Sales Academy--“The greatest gift I have received is a love for tradition, both those of the Academy and also, the larger tradition of the Church.  My time at Mount de Sales was more than just four years of high school. It was a time of growth in which I found myself a member of a close-knit family deeply rooted in the faith.”