History
The Immaculate Heart first sent sisters to Tucson in 1917. In 2002, the order reported having 27 nuns living in Tucson, most of them at Immaculate Heart Lodge (located near the school), and at St. Ann's Convent.
In 1930, the sisters established Immaculate Heart Academy at 35 E. 15th St. near downtown Tucson. It was a private boarding school for girls, built of stone harvested from "A" Mountain — a peak that sits on the outskirts of the city. In 1962, the high school portion - to this day, the oldest continuously running Catholic high school in Tucson - moved to its present site in what is today Oro Valley in northwest Tucson.
The former downtown academy on 15th Street was sold in the early 2000s and in 2006 it was being converted into condominiums.
The school is not directly governed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson so for a long time the school's biggest source of income came from boarding, which continued well into the 1990s. In 1973, the school went co-ed. Fourteen years later, the grade school moved to the Northwest as well, and in 1994 the sisters built the middle school nearby. All three campuses, walking distance from one another, are now known collectively as Immaculate Heart Schools. The high school was named Suffolk Hills Catholic High School from 1971 to 1990. The mascot, now a Knight, used to be a Rebel, but was changed over concern from some that it did not portray the values that Catholic students should hold.
In late 2005, Immaculate Heart made known that it was in the process of developing a strategic plan to try to revive the high school campus. The sisters were successful in raising money for the school through various fundraising and capital improvement campaigns. A new school gymnasium was dedicated in November 2006. A month later, a local citizen donated $1 million to the school.
In 2007, the high school has initiated a strategic plan to increase enrollment to 250 in 3 to 5 years (enrollment in August, 2007 was 64). The high school initiated a 3-5 year capital campaign, which includes an increase in staffing to help increase enrollment, along with investing in cutting edge curriculum including Astrobiology and Virtual High School Netcourse - which open over 200 elective courses to IHHS students.
In 2005, the Academic Decathlon team won the 1A Arizona State Championship. The team would also win state championships in 2007 and 2008.
Read more about this topic: Immaculate Heart Preparatory School
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