Leadership Center

On November 9, 2020, the Academy dedicated the Jane Gisevius ’61 Leadership Center. A prayer service of blessing by Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans, preceded the dedication. Honored guests included Dr. RaeNell Houston, Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of New Orleans; Ursuline Sisters; family and friends of the late Jane Gisevius ’61, Linda Teijelo Smith ’59, and Phyllis Bunol Jones ’37; and Ursuline Academy Board of Trustees Chair Michael Kimble and Vice-Chair Jessica Kennedy Becker ’89.

This leadership center comprises a SmartLab®, collaboration space, robotics lab, and video production studio. The SmartLab® is named in honor of the late Linda Teijelo Smith ’59 and the Robotics Lab for the late Phyllis Bunol Jones ’37.

SmartLabs® are fully integrated STEAM learning environments where everything - from the furniture to the curriculum and assessment work together. The learning approach is based on a four phase cycle: explore, plan, do, and share. The curriculum provides personalized learning resources in the following systems of technology: Circuitry, Computer Graphics, Digital Communications, Mechanics and Structures, Robotics and Control Technology, Scientific Data and Analysis, Software Engineering, Sustainability, and Video Production. Curriculum is accessible to kindergarten through twelfth grade so that these teachers can integrate the project-based content into their lesson plans.

Ursuline Academy firmly believes that, to succeed in tomorrow’s world, girls must learn to think creatively, articulate their ideas confidently and compassionately, and solve problems

God calls us to learn more about him and the world he has created. St. Angela Merici and the Ursuline Sisters took this message to heart and they sought to follow God in new ways and to bring the great gift of education to girls who would be trailblazers of their time. The mission of the Ursuline Sisters continues in this Leadership Center where the students of Ursuline Academy will have the opportunity to engage in STEM and Media Arts and discover and further their interests so that they can be among the trailblazers who change our world for the better.

-MOST REVEREND GREGORY M. AYMOND, ARCHBISHOP OF NEW ORLEANS

collaboratively. Through highly interactive experiences powered by STEM and the arts – and a nurturing community diverse by design – the Academy develops tomorrow’s brightest independent thinkers, innovators, and community builders. This creative, collaborative space promises to bring these future leaders even farther into their educational journey - giving them the confidence to discover what they are capable of achieving.