Ursuline Academy, Lower

As a parent of a current student, I have been impressed with the values of service, leadership, and individualized learning. She is starting her junior year and has lots of opportunities not available in our public school. The academics are rigorous and the opportunities for various activities and sports are limitless.

As we began the search for a high school, my wife and daughter were dismissive of an all-girls, catholic education. My wife and I were each successful in public high school, we were not catholic and private school opportunities seemed out of reach financially and logistically. As a father of a gifted daughter, however, I wanted to be sure to explore all options. We have a friend and neighbor who sent three daughters through Ursuline, so, at my urging, we all attended the fall open house. (They readily admit that I dragged them there.) What impressed us the most at the open house was the fact that the girls lead the event themselves – from the overview of the school to the panel discussions to the tours. Our daughter will likely mature to a science related career, and seeing the empowerment and leadership opportunities that an all-girls environment could develop made me believe that this was the best option for her. More importantly, my wife and daughter came away thinking ‘this is not so bad, we can do this.’ The open house lead to a shadow day and personal tour. As my wife and I toured the school ‘in action’, all I could see were girls just like my daughter – focused and eager to learn. We saw small class sizes, engaged, considerate students and committed faculty. As she begins her second year at Ursuline, there is no doubt that this was the best decision we could have made. She is finally in an environment that can challenge her academically, and she is amongst girls who are equally as eager to learn. We look at the financial and logistical aspects of attending Ursuline as a commitment and not a burden. And we look at an Ursuline education as fostering opportunities not possible through other schools.

My daughters have been students at Ursuline Academy since pre-kindergarten. Our experience has always been positive. They have both been challenged academically, in different ways as they are different students. Small class sizes and individualized curriculum has kept us at UA through high school for both girls. The community is very strong and active. The counseling department is excellent, we are just starting the college process with our oldest and always feel supported and informed. Athletics are accessible to every student, UA has a "no cut" policy, so any student can participate. The girls are encouraged to be leaders through every phase of school at Ursuline Academy. The motto of Serviam (service) is always carried through the years. We are proud to be a part of such a strong community!

Our daughter just completed her Freshman year at Ursuline and she had a wonderful experience. Our daughter was in the gifted program in public school and we wanted to find the right High School to challenge her academically. After we attended the Open House for Ursuline and spoke with many different Administrators we were excited about what Ursuline had to offer. We were not disappointed! We are very happy with the curriculum offered and the numerous AP courses available beginning with Freshman year. The college counseling program starts with Freshman year and the counselors have already begun working with the girls. The athletic program allowed our daughter to participate in any sport she wanted to join and she ended up doing a sport each season. We also love the service requirement. Ursuline emphasizes the need to give back to the community which sticks with the girls throughout their lives. We love the small class sizes and the bond between the girls. As parents we want to see our daughter grow into a strong, confident and inspired young woman and we know Ursuline is the perfect place for our daughter to achieve her greatest potential.