Ursuline Academy

My Daughter just completed her first year at Ursuline High School. She is a very shy, smart girl. At the other schools she has attended she found herself not challenged academically and socially withdrawn. Ursuline challenges her academically and encourages her to open herself more socially. We were very concerned that the school would meet our expectations, but I have to say it has never disappointed us. The principal is absolutely amazing and doing a great job. One last comment, this school is on the cutting edge when it comes to technology which was very important to us. All the kids have laptops and the classrooms are state of the art. This school is expensive but worth EVERY penny for us.
—Submitted by a parent

Ursuline provides an excellent college preparatory education to girls. It offers a healthy variety of AP, honors, and art courses. Ursuline has an incredibly challenging curriculum and attracts some of the brightest, most academically competitive girls in the state. The strong academic rigor, the nine AP courses I have taken, the all girls education, and the personal relationships with teachers have enabled me to achieve all of my goals college wise. I am attending one of the most selective liberal arts colleges in the nation. My only gripe with the school is that it places a strong emphasis on memorization and spit-back rather than fostering a deep, intellectual love of learning. While rote review is important for the AP exams and contributes greatly to the students high scores, it can lead to boredom and a lack of desire to learn. Most teachers are at least solid but there are a few that need to be taken care of. The new principal is wonderful in dealing with students and parents and solving problems. I believe it is a wonderful place for any student looking for a serious college preparatory curriculum with the benefits of single-sex education.

Ursuline might sometimes be looked over because of its small size, but in my experience, my daughter could not have picked a better place to go. The teachers are always available to help her, but the school is focused on preparing the students for college. My daughter's classes feature a lot of long-term assignments and independent work. I believe this prepares my daughter well for college and the staff at Ursuline along with the counseling department are all very knowledgable about college expectations. A variety of AP classes are offered. The counseling department takes care of all applications to coleges and other programs and the teachers are always happy to write a reccomendation. The Ursuline reputation means my daughter gets looks from colleges that knoow the Ursuline program an understand that the students graduating will be prepared for college. While my daughter certainly wasn't looking this far ahead when she chose a high school, we are both extremely happy and less stressed about the college process. The new principal is accessble and friendly, and many parents volunteer ther time, an example of the Serviam attitude that surrounds the school.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter is finishing her second year at Ursuline. Academics, sports, 'serviam' and arts programs are admirable. Teacher and principal availability and communication is outstanding. The majority of children are polite, competitive, motivated and friendly enough but the parents can be a little click-ish. Overall I would rate it an excellent choice and although we struggle with the tuition we deem it worthwhile.
—Submitted by a parent

Excellent! Small enough for individual attention, but big enough to feel right at home!
—Submitted by a student

Ursuline Academy is a school known for 'excellence without exception'. Their excellence shines through in all areas including; Academics, Sports, Fine Arts, and Spirituality. The faculty and administration are very helpful, skilled, and love the school as well. It offers a warm and friendly atmosphere where parents feel welcomed. My daughter has been at the school for two years now and absolutely loves every aspect of her day! I am proud to be associated with such an outstanding institution and look forward to returning in September!
—Submitted by a parent

I have had one daughter of mine attend this school, and from experience, this school did not meet our expectations. Overall, the school was lacking a spontaneity -- something unique. Each day, my daughter would come home from school, complaining about the monotonous studies and the dissatisfying administration. Although there were a few members of faculty and administration my daughter and I took a liking to, the lot of them were rather distasteful. And as for the dance and music programs, most of them were just dressed up with superficial attempts to gain interest from parents and such -- in actuality, the programs themselves were mediocre. The sports program at this school, does however, make up for some of the school's deficiencies. Parent involvement wise, things were somewhat okay. And in my child's opinion, what made the school tolerable was the occasional friends she made -- but that's it.
—Submitted by a parent

My daughter attended grades 7 through 8, so commentary is limited to only those grades. Teaching staff was exemplary. Course work was demanding with 2-3 hours of daily homework. Teachers were seemingly always available and, in general, helpful. Class sizes were 15-20 girls. Laptops were well-integrated into the curriculum with full support of school & faculty. She loved her time at the school; teachers were excellent, especially in the sciences. Luckily she also had the same high standard English teacher as well. Extracurricular activities were fine, considering this was, in effect, junior high school. Facilities were well maintained. Only drawback was lack of diversity and the strength of cliques. Weaknesses were preyed upon, so that may qualify as a character building component.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a graduate of Ursuline and currently have two daughters attending, one to start in a couple of years. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants their daughter to have a top notch,high quality, nurturing education. I have found it to be a very loving and friendly atmosphere which helps my daughters to enjoy and crave learning.
—Submitted by Lynne Romero, a parent

I have twin daughters attending Ursuline for the third year. They are now in second grade. The environment is friendly and warm. Teachers are excellent! They are also very nuturing. Parents are very much involved in the school. My children love it here!
—Submitted by Michelle Windsor, a parent