We have an exciting announcement to share with our community...read below!
In the Fall of 2019, St. Therese Academy opened its doors to serve a unique and special student body of just over 100 students in grades K-12th grade in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. This fall, St. Therese Academy will celebrate a huge milestone of doubling its enrollment with a move to a new location on the campus of St. Mary Magdalen Parish to accommodate the growing student body.
“Despite existing two years in COVID, and, quite honestly, some confusion about our identity and services in the community, St. Therese Academy has grown and exceeded all expectations in just three years,” said Head of School Shannon Bland. “This move to St. Mary Magdalen will allow us to continue to grow enrollment, but more importantly broaden the services and opportunities we can offer our students.”
A school for exceptional learners, St. Therese enrolls students with learning differences who are in need of adjustments to be successful in the classroom. There is no typical student at St. Therese as the administration, faculty, and staff work together to customize learning plans for each child based on their ability and style of learning in a manner that cannot be managed in a traditional Catholic school setting.
“There were many people in the community that doubted us and our mission when we opened,” continued Bland. “Common thinking was that all children should be mainstreamed and receive additional resources, but our research and the experience of our families proved that model does not work for every child. Our growth and success is proof that this model of education for exceptional learners is a choice families were looking for and is needed in the community.”
The Archdiocese of New Orleans and St. Mary Magdalen Parish announced in January of this year that the parish elementary school would close at the end of the school year due to declining enrollment and finances. It was then that conversations began between St. Therese Academy and the parish.
Since opening, St. Therese has been housed on the campus of Our Lady of Divine Providence, which was closed at the end of the 2018-2019 school year. OLDP, just about a mile west of St. Mary Magdalen on W. Metairie in Metairie, is a smaller and land-locked campus. As more families began sharing their positive experiences with St. Therese and the applications began streaming in, the school leadership began to explore the options of how to expand. The campus at St. Mary Magdalen will allow for 27 classrooms and a recently renovated and updated cafeteria and playground to accommodate the growing student body. It will also allow for more space to offer specialized services and to enrich the curriculum and learning opportunities for the just over 200 students expected to enroll in Fall of 2022.
“St. Therese Academy is a dream come true for so many families looking for alternatives to provide a Catholic education for their child,” said Superintendent of Catholic Schools, Dr. RaeNell Houston. “In time where the national trends see decreasing Catholic school enrollment and K-12 enrollment overall in schools locally and nationally, for St. Therese Academy to have doubled its enrollment in two years during COVID with shutdowns and quarantines is a testament to their good work and the dedication of families, administration, faculty, and staff to be successful. St. Therese Academy is truly a blessing to our archdiocese.”