A School of Excellence

In 1999, Sacred Heart Academy was named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the United States Department of Education.

In addition to being named a National School of Excellence, SHA was recommended for special recognition in the emphasis area of arts education.

SHA's arts education program includes emphasis on visual arts; graphic design, as incorporated into the technology program; and performing arts, as a collaborative program on campus with the Ursuline School for the Performing Arts. The addition of the Art, Media and Technology Wing further enhances Sacred Heart's offerings to students in arts education.

What makes SHA an excellent school?

Academic benchmarks

• As of 2006, SHA has had over 320 National Merit Finalists and Commended students.
• In 1998, the Academy was named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
• SHA is the only Catholic high school and one of four high schools in the state of Kentucky to offer the International Baccalaureate Program. IB students receive specialized diplomas and advanced standing at many colleges and universities.
• Since 2001, 82 SHA graduates have earned the International Baccalaureate (I.B.) diploma.
• Yearly, SHA students are named Governor's Scholars and selected for participation in the Governor's School for the Arts.
• In 1998, a Sacred Heart alum was one of 32 Americans to be named a Rhodes Scholar, one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world.
• Two SHA alums have been named Truman Scholars.
• 85% of the SHA faculty have masters degrees or beyond.
• SHA offers multiple academic levels to meet students' individual needs.
• 99% of SHA students go on to higher education, and are accepted annually by hundreds of colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada.
• SHA offers students with special learning needs the assistance of a learning differences coordinator, student tutors, reduced class sizes, flexible testing methods, special seating arrangements, and frequent progress reports upon request.

Visual Art, Graphic and Web Design

• Students at the Academy have access to one of the region's most comprehensive visual arts programs and facilities within the school's Art, Media, and Technology Wing. Visual arts students enjoy the school's photography dark rooms, kiln and pottery area, an art studio and gallery showplace, as well as the latest technology and equipment for graphic design, videography, animation, and Web design.
• Annually, SHA art students are awarded Gold, Silver, and Honorable Mention awards in the regional Scholastic Competition, a nationally-sponsored program.
• In the Derby Regional All-State Show and the Derby Region Scholastic Show, SHA students have consistently won numerous awards.
• An Academy student was one of the top 100 finalists in the IMATION national computer art scholarship competition.
• Murals created by the Academy's art students are featured throughout Louisville, including the Hyatt Regency downtown, Kosair Children's Hospital, and Bittner's.

Performing Arts

• SHA students are regularly selected for Kentucky's All-State Chorus and the Governor's School for the Arts.
• The SHA Madrigals are in high demand in the community and have performed with the Louisville Orchestra, at the Louisville International Airport, at Actor’s Theatre of Louisville and for the Louisville Arts Society.
• SHA choirs travel and perform across the United States and Canada in choral competitions.
• The Academy's A Cappella Choir was the only group selected to sing for a nationally-televised M.A.D.D. memorial.
• SHA students have the opportunity to enrich their lives through music, dance, and drama in cooperative programs on the 48-acre campus with the Ursuline School for the Performing Arts.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

• SHA commits more than $180,000 of its budget for financial aid and scholarships to students.
• The King Foundation for Social Justice, created by Nick King and Carol Zurkuhlen King (SHA '62) in 1999, provides scholarships to academically motivated and financially challenged students for an education at the Academy and for college.
• Academic scholarships, financial aid, minority scholarships, and work/study programs are available to students with financial needs.

Athletics

• SHA sports offer a history with over 70 state championships, more than any other girls' program in Kentucky.
• Twenty-one state swim titles rank SHA fifth in the nation for state swim titles, according to the National Federation of State Diving and Swimming Associations. Three Academy Alums have gone on to swim in the Olympics.
• The varsity basketball team won back to back to back, 2002, 2003 and 2004 KHSAA State basketball championships, for a total of 4 state basketball titles. The Valkyrie basketball team has won 3 straight Louisville Invitational Titles, the city's most competitive tournament. The tournament was started by former Sacred Heart coach and athletic director Bunny Daugherty.
• Sacred Heart's cross country team won its 5th state title, most recently capturing the 2003 and 2004 state cross country championships.
• Sacred Heart’s field hockey team won the 2002 state field hockey championship and was runner-up in 2003 and 2004.
• Over 50% of all SHA students participate in athletics. Many more compete in our intramural program that consists of volleyball, flag football, and 3 on 3 basketball.
• Sacred Heart teams compete for KHSAA state championships in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. SHA also offers teams that compete in non-KHSAA sanctioned championships in bowling, cheerleading, dance, field hockey, lacrosse, and rowing.
• SHA's cross country, swimming, and track programs have a no-cut policy and are available to any student who wishes to participate.
• Sacred Heart is one of the only girls' schools in the region to offer on-site training and regulation sports facilities to almost all of its teams, with the exception of swimming, golf, rowing, and bowling.
• SHA built a 750-capacity gym, serving as the site for indoor athletic events and physical education classes.
• Students enjoy well-maintained fields for softball, field hockey, soccer, and lacrosse, an eight lane track, two field houses, and a five-court tennis complex.

Retreat and Service Program

• SHA offers a four-year retreat program which helps students grow in their faith and strengthen their relationship with their God, family, and others.
• Academy students volunteer nearly 30,000 hours of service to the Louisville community yearly, working to help the poor, the elderly, the young, the disabled, and many more.
• Academy students volunteer countless hours to dozens of individuals and organizations – some include the Humane Society, the Marian Home (the long-term care facility for Ursuline Sisters), the Ursuline Child Development Center, the House of Ruth, the Appalachian Toy Drive, The Nativity School, and St. Ann's Tutoring Center.

Technology Training and Equipment

• In fall of 2000, SHA opened a bi-level Art, Media, and Technology Wing, offering students one of the region’s most comprehensive programs. Within the Wing, Academy students enjoy high-speed, DSL Internet access; four computer labs (two general, multimedia, and desktop publishing with SmartBoards); a modern TV studio and control room; four digital editing suites; a photography class and dark room; a kiln, pottery and sculpture area; and three art studios and gallery showplace.
• Throughout the building, Sacred Heart offers more than 280 desktop units; five computer labs; video editing suites; a Television Production Studio; a closed circuit TV system (with regular broadcasts from WSHA, the school’s news network); KET and Channel One satellite systems; a Windows 2003 network; mini-labs in the physics lab and a new science lab with wireless laptops at each table, a SmartBoard, and a color printer; and networked PCs with Internet access in every classroom and the library.
• Academy students annually produce and direct their own documentaries and have had the opportunity to work with an award-winning filmmaker on a documentary about the Germantown neighborhood in Louisville.

History, Campus and Mission

• SHA was founded in 1877 by the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, and is located on the beautiful, park-like 48-acre Ursuline Campus.
• The Academy celebrated its 125th birthday in 2002-03 with several special events all-year long, and commemorated its rich and colorful history with a coffee table book, produced through volunteer efforts by an all-alumnae team. The book is titled Sacred Heart Academy, 125 Years of Excellence in Education Rooted in Ursuline Tradition.
• Sacred Heart Academy was originally nicknamed"Sacred Heart of the Pines" because of the proliferation of pine trees on the Ursuline Campus in the late 1800s.
• The Academy, like each of the five Ursuline Campus Schools, is committed to education that affirms the Ursuline values of community, leadership, reverence, and service, and centers on educating the whole person.