ACADEMY OF THE SACRED HEART ANNUAL REPORT
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Dear Members of the Sacred Heart Family, As a school of the Sacred Heart, children are our “raison d’être”—our reason for being. Through our work of education, foundress St. Madeleine Sophie believed that young people would…
Become aware of love, truth and freedom;
YO U R A N N UA L GIV I N G I N V E S TM E NT
Discover the significance of their lives;
fuels progress for our girls—today and tomorrow.
Take part creatively in the effort to transform the world Be enabled to encounter the love of Jesus;
Lucy Calkins’ Reading and Writing Workshop methodology was incrementally rolled out in kindergarten through twelfth grade, creating what we confidently assess is the most outstanding “balanced literacy program” in the city. As ASH families, we can be proud that one of our core strengths remains in language arts, a confluence of skills and competencies essential for success in our world.
Let their lives be shaped by an active faith. (Society of the Sacred Heart, Constitutions 11)
Faithful to her seminal inspiration, Sacred Heart educators at the Rosary in 2016-2017 accompanied 755 students from the tender innocence of our oneyear-olds to the more poised twelfth grade graduates in this most profoundly sacred work.
A new entrepreneurial math course was offered in the Upper School. Through this course on financial literacy, students managed the school’s satellite franchise PJ’s coffee shop through the application of business skills via a yearlong practicum.
And, it was truly blessed!
Annual Repor t Photography by Jerr y Naunheim 58
With your gift through Annual Giving, we challenged our girls at every age and level with a provocative program of studies. Your investment made possible many initiatives and resulted in some remarkable outcomes (see facing page for details). All of these outstanding accomplishments of our students and our school occurred through the generosity of you, our parents and friends, in Annual Giving. With your gift, you continue the work of education that has inspired generations of young women to change the world. We wish to thank Nina and Patrick English, our 2016-2017 Parents Annual Giving Chairs, and all of our generous volunteers for their leadership throughout the year in support of our annual campaign. We could not have done it without you! Thank you to our trustees, faculty and staff, grandparents, alumnae, and friends for sharing in our mission, for your commitment, and for your generous spirit!
Sincerely,
Sr. Melanie A. Guste, RSCJ, Ph.D. ’70 Headmistress
ANNUAL REPORT | 2016-2017
Our STEAM curriculum was equipped with new CAD Software, die-cutters and 3-D printers. Our students designed earthquake-resistant structures, wind-resistant roofs, coastal barriers, prosthetic hands, and tinkered with turbines.
At State Rally in Division 3, students came in first place in World History and Financial Math Literacy, second place in Psychology, and third place in Business Computer Applications and Spanish IV. Our faculty-to-student ratios decreased from 9.5 to 1 in 2015-2016 to exceptional 8.8 to 1 in 2016-2017, creating increased differentiation and personalization. Our class sizes are less than 16. Forty-eight percent of our faculty and administration have master’s degrees or above. These differences are reflected in that our students have outscored both Louisiana and national averages in advanced placement. Our ACT scores surpass state and national averages, steadily increasing from a 27.0 in 2016-2017 to a 27.7 in 2017-2018. And, nearly 90% of our students scored 50% above Louisiana and global averages in our 13 AP classes. Our eighth and ninth graders’ mean average test score surpassed national norms, and 50% of eighth graders scored in the 90th percentile. 100% of the graduating class earned TOPS with an initial dollar value of $416,016.90 (to be renewed annually) and additional scholarships amounting to $9,739,288.10. This past summer, we hosted two community service projects in New Orleans in partnerships with our students and students from other Sacred Heart schools around the country—"Rebuild New Orleans” and “Healthy Waters and Coastal Restoration.”
Neal J. Kling Chair, Board of Trustees
Your continued investment in Sacred Heart positioned our school in 2016-2017 to achieve the highest standard of educational best practice in the country, as evidenced by its re-accreditation by the Independent Schools of the Southwest.
ANNUAL REPORT | 2016-2017
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