St. Mary's Academy (Cherry Hills Village) Explained

St. Mary's Academy
Religion:Roman Catholic
President:Iswari Natarajan
Principal:Interim (HS)
Andy Aldrich (MS)
Karen Smith (LS)
Ceeb:060535
Enrollment:678
Enrollment As Of:2022-2023
Colors:Navy blue and white
Mascot:Wildcat
Campus Type:Urban
Campus Size:24 Acres
Streetaddress:4545 South University Boulevard
State:Colorado
Zipcode:80113-6099
Country:USA
Coordinates:39.6339°N -104.9606°W

St. Mary's Academy (SMA) is a Catholic, independent day school in the Loretto tradition located in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. Founded by the Sisters of Loretto in 1864, St. Mary's Academy educates boys and girls. St. Mary's Academy is composed of a co-ed Lower School (co-ed Preschool through Grade 5) and Middle School (co-ed Grades 6-8), and continues its tradition as a college preparatory high school for girls (Grades 9-12). The U.S. Department of Education has honored St. Mary's Academy three times as a School of Excellence (a program initially titled Blue Ribbon Schools). St. Mary's Academy High School offers 26 AP courses.

History

St. Mary's Academy is the oldest continuously operating pre-collegiate school in Denver, and has the distinction of awarding the first high school diploma in 1875, a year before Colorado became a state. Originally situated at 14th and California Streets on the edge of the prairie, in 1911 the school moved and built next door to Margaret “Molly” Brown on Pennsylvania Avenue. Needing additional space and recognizing that families were moving to the suburbs, St. Mary's Academy located to its current home in the early 1950s. Begun as a school for girls, boys were welcomed into all Lower and Middle School grades in the mid-1970s.

Activities

Affiliations

Association of Colorado Independent Schools (ACIS)
National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)
National Catholic Education Association
National Coalition of Girls’ Schools
Colorado High School Activities Association
3A Metropolitan League

Notable alumnae

Notes and references

"St Mary’s Academy: 150 Years of Courage, Tenacity and Vision" (September–October 2014 issue of Colorado Heritage, the magazine of History Colorado).