History
The Academy of the Holy Cross was founded in 1868. For the first few years, the academy shared facilities with St. Matthew’s parish school in the District of Columbia. The Academy grew rapidly, but was hindered by lack of money needed to finance a building. In 1877 Sister Mary LaSalette and Father Charles Ignatius White of St. Matthew's set about finding a site. They decided on a lot adjacent to Thomas Circle, at 1312 Massachusetts Avenue, NW. Students and faculty moved in early in 1879.
By the mid-1880s the Academy had a new superior, Sister Mary Angelica. Sister Angelica was to guide Holy Cross for three decades, until well into the 20th century. She oversaw not only the growth and development of the curriculum, but the planning and construction of the Academy’s expansion into a new location on Upton Street. In 1898, the campus had to be renovated to allow room for boarding students and the continuously increasing number of applications led the school to lease a nearby property as an annex.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Holy Cross had outgrown its campus. The school bought a large unused estate west of Rock Creek Park on Dunbarton Heights in 1904. This site had no water, sewage service, gas or electricity which delayed building until 1909. In June 1910, the academy’s new structure was finished, and housed Holy Cross until the mid-1950s.
In 1943, the Sisters of the Holy Cross purchased a large parcel of land in Kensington. By 1953 the Upton Street School was no longer adequate. In 1956 the academy moved to Kensington, Maryland, its present home. The gymnasium was added in 1966.
In November 2001, AHC broke ground for an Arts & Sciences building and Theatre. The addition, which connects to the old building, was opened for the beginning of the 2003-2004 school year. The new wing, which nearly doubles the learning space available for the students, include classrooms, labs, art studios, rehearsal rooms and a 400-seat Theatre.
In 2010, the Academy became an approved International Baccalaureate (IB) school.
Read more about this topic: Academy Of The Holy Cross
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Racism is an ism to which everyone in the world today is exposed; for or against, we must take sides. And the history of the future will differ according to the decision which we make.”
—Ruth Benedict (1887–1948)
“The only history is a mere question of one’s struggle inside oneself. But that is the joy of it. One need neither discover Americas nor conquer nations, and yet one has as great a work as Columbus or Alexander, to do.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“Every literary critic believes he will outwit history and have the last word.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)