Incarnate Word Academy is an all-girls

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

college preparatory school located in

Downtown Houston, Texas Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the ...

, United States. Incarnate Word Academy serves grades 9 through 12 and is owned and operated by the Congregation of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament. IWA opened a new $15 million, academic building in the Spring of 2017 to provide additional space for classes, collaboration, student life, and fine arts.

Student body

The student body represents fifty-one Catholic parishes and 101 zip codes across the Houston metropolitan area and is a community of 348 young women. As of the 2017–2018 school year, school's racial percentages are as follows: *

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

: 24% *

White American White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...

: 48% *

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

: 9% *

Multi-racial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...

: 11% *

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

: 8%

History

In 1873, Mother Jeanne de Matel and two other sisters of the religious order of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament arrived at the corner of Jackson and Crawford with a historic mission in mind. The sisters were invited by Bishop John Odin to establish a school for young women. The sisters arrived in Houston from Lyon, France by way of Brownsville, Texas on April 25, 1873. They took up their residence in a large building, once a Franciscan Monastery, across the street from St. Vincent's Church on Franklin Street. A chapel was prepared and on May 5, 1873, Mass was celebrated there. The student body marks this day each on Foundation Day. These women of early Texas founded the first permanent school in Houston, and called it Incarnate Word Academy for Young Ladies.

Curriculum

The curriculum is primarily intended to prepare students for higher education and to this end students take core, college-preparatory courses and electives based on their individual interests.

Advanced Placement program

The school has an Advanced Placement (AP) program with honors and AP classes, wherein students take classes that closely parallel university-level courses in the same subject. These classes follow a strict syllabus and are graded more rigorously than non-AP courses. They culminate in a standardized, comprehensive exam each spring, a passing score on which may earn the student college credit.

References

{{authority control Private high schools in Houston Roman Catholic secondary schools in Houston Girls' schools in Texas Buildings and structures in Houston Downtown Houston

Student body

History

Curriculum

Advanced Placement program

See also

References