St. Ursula Academy (Cincinnati, Ohio)

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**St. Ursula Academy and Convent**

Principal	Frances Romweber
President	Judith Wimberg
Founded	1910
School type	Private, All girls
Location	Hamilton County, Ohio, USA
Enrollment	734 students (2005–06)
Mascot	Bulldogs
School colors	blue and gold
www.saintursula.org

St. Ursula Academy is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. St. Ursula Academy is a Catholic college-preparatory high school for young women which offers an intensive four-year program in the fields of English, mathematics, science, social studies, French, Spanish, Latin, and religion. An entrance test is required of all prospective freshmen students. Academic scholarships are also based on the results of this test.

The Academy also offers a program for college-bound, highly motivated young women of above average ability who have dyslexia or other learning disabilities. Learning disabilities students are completely mainstreamed within the college-preparatory curriculum.

[edit] History

St. Ursula Academy was established in 1910 by the newly-founded Ursuline community as a private academy for students from kindergarten through the twelfth grade. The sisters had an enrollment of sixty-three pupils that first year, when classes were held in a house they rented at Ingleside and McMillan. The following year the school was in session at 1339 East McMillan in the Worcester residence, which the sisters had recently purchased. In December 1910, the community acquired the Schuster-Martin building. The facilities were enhanced in 1915 with the building of a chapel wing, which connected the two original buildings and also provided enlarged kitchen and dining areas. About the same time, the far west building was built by Mr. and Mrs. Bellamy Storer as their residence. When the Storers died, the building became the property of the sisters and was utilized for additional classroom space. In 1952 two smaller houses adjacent to the west wing were purchased. The original gym-auditorium was added in 1954. Every inch of space was used to the fullest to accommodate the growing number of students. A new classroom wing was added to St. Ursula in 1967. In 1960 the purchase of a twenty-five acre estate in Mt. Lookout enabled the community to provide space for the elementary division, known as St. Ursula Villa.

For several years the McMillan Street site was the school for grades seven through twelve. Now it is chartered as a four-year college preparatory high school, and grades seven and eight are located at the Villa. November 1985 marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of St. Ursula's foundation. With the generous support of alumnae, friends, and parents, the physical plant underwent extensive renovation, enabling the school to accommodate an increasing number of students.

From the beginning until the 1990s, St. Ursula Academy was owned and operated by the Ursulines of Cincinnati. From its earliest days, however, the support and assistance of lay alumnae, parents and friends was critical for its success. In the late 1970s the sisters formalized that support by establishing the Advisory Board. In 1994 St. Ursula Academy was incorporated as a separate entity and is now governed by a Board of Trustees. In 1999 St. Ursula Academy purchased the McMillan Street property from the Ursulines of Cincinnati. In March 2000, the two small buildings at the comer of Upland and Fleming Streets were demolished to make room for the construction of a new academic building, Margaret Unnewehr Schott Hall. This building encompasses four levels and provides eight new science classrooms/labs, 10 general classrooms and two music rooms. In all these changes, the philosophy of the school, its emphasis on the religious formation of its students, and its pursuit of academic excellence are being strengthened by the combined commitment of the Ursulines of Cincinnati, the faculty , the administration, and the Board of Trustees. In June 2002, construction began on a gymnasium/convocation center and was completed in June 2003.

The dedication and excellence of the teaching staff have always been strengths of St. Ursula. The staff's interest in providing an excellent education in a religious and congenial atmosphere is high. With student and parent support, St. Ursula Academy will continue to provide such an experience for its students.