St. Teresa's Academy is a

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independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

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 t ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') 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 border ...

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. 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 Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for Saint Jo ...

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 Religious sister, women religious which traces its origins to a group founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, around 1650 by Jean Paul Médaille#Jean-Pierre Médaille, ...

. 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 and the motto of the academy, "Deo Adjuvante Non Timendum" (). 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 university, private Catholic university in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and offers bachelor's degrees and master's degrees. Its 13 buildings are s ...

. 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 alumni

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, fashion designer * Lauren Fowlkes, defender

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and

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

and

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* Juana Summers, co-host of

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References

External links

* {{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