Link to Tennessean article
The Catholic High School Honor Roll today announced the selection of St. Cecilia Academy as one of the best 50 Catholic secondary schools in America and the only Tennessee school to make the list.
The Catholic High School Honor Roll provides a powerful resource to parents and educators by acknowledging those schools that best maintain high academic standards, uphold their Catholic identities, and prepare students to actively engage the world. To see a list of the top 50 schools, along with lists of the top 25 schools in each category, please go to www.chshonor.org. St. Cecilia Academy is in the top 25 schools with regards to civic education.
Nearly 1,300 Catholic high schools were invited to apply to the Honor Roll by completing surveys that measure academic excellence, Catholic identity, and civic education. With this high level of competition, St. Cecilia Academy’s inclusion on the Honor Roll indicates outstanding success in each of the disciplines examined.
St. Cecilia Academy is Nashville’s oldest private high school, founded in 1860 by the Dominican Sisters of the St. Cecilia Congregation. For nearly 150 years, the Sisters and some of the city’s best teachers have been educating girls in an environment that is rooted in faith and rich in excellence. Sixty-six percent of the St. Cecilia faculty and staff hold advanced degrees and 17% hold doctorate degrees. Last spring, the Class of 2006 was offered $2.7 million in scholarships, an average of $46,000 per graduate, the highest average of any class to date at SCA. And just this month seven seniors were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program as semifinalists and commendees.
This is the second time St. Cecilia Academy has been named to the Top 50 best Catholic high schools list. This year’s list includes 20 new honorees and 12 schools that have earned recognition each of the past three years. Overall, 25 states are represented on the Honor Roll and eleven different religious orders sponsor honorees, including the Nashville Dominicans, Legionaries of Christ, Jesuits, and Norbertines.
Advisory board member Gerard Bradley, professor of law at the University of Notre Dame Law School, said the Honor Roll serves an important purpose. “High schools that are fulfilling well their mission to form students morally and intellectually deserve to be recognized,” he said. “The Honor Roll brings recognition to these outstanding schools."
“The Honor Roll has certainly developed a greater awareness among Catholics that excellence in Catholic education means more than just excelling in academics,” explained Honor Roll consultant Kevin Schmiesing. “The best schools also have a vibrant Catholic identity and prepare students for fruitful vocations in politics, business, and the Church.”
The Catholic High School Honor Roll is an independent project of the Acton Institute, an international research and educational organization. The Honor Roll was produced in consultation with a national advisory board comprised of Catholic college presidents and noted Catholic scholars. For more on Acton, please go to www.acton.org.
