Our History

In 1902 ground was broken for a new academy founded by the Benedictine Sisters. The large bell in the tower atop the new four-story wooden building rang for the first time on September 4, 1903 to announce the beginning of school, and St. Scholastica Academy was born.

When the bell rang in 1910, it was for the dedication of the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, which is where the May crowning is held for our current students. Through the years, the bell rang for classes, for Mass and for the Angelus. From its place in the wooden school building tower, it announced the daily unfolding history of the school and the people who formed it: students, teachers, parents and the community. As it rang its daily messages, it marked the passing years of growth.

In 1965, the Archdiocese of New Orleans purchased the Academy and agreed to build a new school facility. In 1967, the bell rang to announce the dedication of the new buildings by Archbishop Philip Hannan, and SSA officially became an Archdiocesan high school. When the original buildings were replaced, the bell was removed from its tower and, along with the grotto, remains as a symbol of SSA’s rich history.
If our bell could tell the stories of its students and teachers that were heard over the years, it would tell stories of joy, hope, challenges and successes. The investment in lives, resources and energies through the years of the Benedictine Sisters defies measurements.
The bell rang on November 15, 2008 to announce the dedication of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel, the return of a true chapel to the SSA campus after 40 years.

SSA is proud of its past and embraces the present, continually striving to fulfill the four pillars of the Benedictine tradition of prayer, work, study, and community. Each student continues the legacy that challenges her to always take time for each other, look for the best, and build for tomorrow.

Recognized as a national Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education and accredited by AdvancEd, SSA has an enrollment of approximately 470 young women and an average class size of 22, which allows for each student to be known by name and to have a strong voice in the classroom.
 
SSA is a leader in technology for educational purposes. SSA offers a one-to-one computing program utilizing the Google Suite for collaborative and creative learning. Our digital arts program and TV production studio provides real world experience with industry grade film and graphic design software. These experiences give our students every advantage in college acceptance and professional performance.

In addition to maintaining strong academics, SSA students are required to complete community service hours encompassing involvement, action and reflection of their Catholic beliefs as applied to everyday life. The all-girls environment allows for the development of individual initiative and leadership. The guidance department counsels students on academics, careers and the college application process. SSA students consistently outscore the state and national averages on standardized tests.
 
SSA’s extracurricular and sports programs form an essential part of school life. The choir and play productions are a vital part of the Academy. Students can choose from 35 activities and 15 team sports. As a member of the LHSAA, the Doves have earned multiple District and State Championships in most sports offered. Our ten-acre athletic complex houses an all-weather track, softball field, and soccer fields.

SSA’s vision is part of its spirit – that the quality of life in our society becomes greatly improved when young women are educated to succeed, stand confident, and lead Christian lives of service and responsibility.
St. Scholastica Academy is a Catholic, all-girls, college-preparatory high school located in Covington, Louisiana. Founded in 1903, SSA perpetuates the Benedictine tradition of balancing prayer, work, study, and community in developing adolescent girls into Christian women grounded in the Gospel values of the Catholic faith. St. Scholastica Academy is a Catholic girls high school of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. As such it admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities available to students at its schools. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, or athletic and other school-administered programs.