St. Teresa's Academy is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

secondary school for girls in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was founded in 1866 by the

Sisters of St. Joseph The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for S ...

of Carondelet, and accredited in 1923.

History

St. Teresa's Academy was founded in 1866 at 12th and Washington in Kansas City's Quality Hill area and is sponsored by the

Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ) are a Roman Catholic congregation of women religious which traces its origins to a group founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, Le Puy-en-Velay, France around 1650 by Jean Paul Médaille#Jean-Pierre Médaille, Jea ...

. It is the oldest school in

. In 1909 the Sisters relocated St. Teresa's to a site at 5600 Main. On the cornerstone of the first campus building the Sisters inscribed the words of

St. Teresa of Avila ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

and the motto of the academy, "Deo Adjuvante Non Timendum" ( la, With the help of God, we need not fear). They named the campus "Windmoor" because of the constant wind blowing across the open prairie. In 1941 the Sisters added a second building, Donnelly Hall, which housed the city's first college for women. In 1962 the college moved to the south part of Kansas City and became Avila College, later

Avila University Avila University is a private Roman Catholic university in Kansas City, Missouri. It is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and offers bachelor's degrees and master's degrees. Its 13 buildings are situated on a campus of in K ...

. In 1982 a gymnasium, the Goppert Center, was completed for the school's women's athletic program. A fourth building, the Windmoor Center, was completed after 300 days of construction on February 2, 2012. In 2017 a St. Teresa's family donated over a million dollars to improve the school's STEM program. This money was used to renovate the Goppert Center, where a new campus ministry office, library, robotics lab, gymnasium, and weight-training room were added. Renovations were completed in May 2018 and became open to the student-body the following school year.

Academics

The school's curriculum includes Advanced Placement classes and Advanced College Credit classes in conjunction with Rockhurst University. St. Teresa's Academy's student newspaper, the ''Dart.'' has received numerous awards. DartNewsOnline.com, the website corresponding with the newspaper, received the title of ''Pacemaker,'' the highest award from the National Scholastic Press Association, for the 2009–2010 school year, the same year the website was launched. The school's yearbook, the ''Teresian'', has also won many national awards, including the Pacemaker in the academic years 2010-2011 and 2012–2013, placing it in the top 25 yearbooks in the nation, as well as the Pacemaker finalist in 2009–2010, 2011-2012 and 2013–2014. The ''Teresian'' also won awards including the All-American Award with 5 Marks of Distinction and the Gold Crown. In addition to its recognition for journalistic excellence at a national level as a book, many photographers, writers and graphic designers have received awards on a city, state, and national level for individual contributions to the book.

Athletics

The academy fields athletic teams in basketball, soccer, volleyball, cross country, golf, track, softball, swimming, tennis, dance and lacrosse. The school recently built a new track and field facility on campus that is highlighted by an 8-lane Mondo surface track and field that is set up for girls soccer, lacrosse and softball. The Stars compete in the largest class of MSHSAA sports; most recently playing for district championships in soccer, basketball, golf, tennis, cross country and volleyball.

Controversy

In September 2017, images from social media platform Snapchat revealed students playing a drinking game while posing near a swastika. The students were playing a game of "Jews vs. Nazis" beer pong.

Notable alumnae

Kate Spade Katherine Noel Valentine Brosnahan Spade (born Katherine Noel Brosnahan; December 24, 1962 – June 5, 2018) was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur as well as a fashion Icon. She was the founder and co-owner of the designer brand ...

, fashion designer *

Lauren Fowlkes Lauren Ann Fowlkes (born July 6, 1988) is a retired American soccer player from Lee's Summit, Missouri. She was a defender for the United States women's national under-23 soccer team and the Chicago Red Stars of National Women's Soccer League. ...

, defender

United States U-23 Women's National Soccer Team The United States U-23 women's national soccer team is a youth soccer team operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer. Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the full Women's National Team. The team competes in a va ...

and

Philadelphia Independence The Philadelphia Independence was an American professional soccer club that was based in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester, Pennsylvania. The team joined Women's Professional Soccer as an expansion team in 2010 and played its home games at West ...

* Dorian Bailey, midfielder United States U-17 Women's National Soccer Team,

and

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and cont ...

Notes and references

External links

School Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Teresa's Academy, Kansas City, Missouri High schools in Kansas City, Missouri Catholic secondary schools in Missouri Educational institutions established in 1866 Girls' schools in Missouri Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph 1866 establishments in Missouri Sisters of Saint Joseph schools