Academics
Educated for Life
ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS
In Kindergarten through Grade 12, Sacred Heart Academy Bryn Mawr (SHA) students are active participants in their learning. They engage in open and meaningful dialogue with their peers and teachers, immerse themselves in project based learning, and collaborate to problem solve. From Day 1, students are not bystanders, but agents in their own education.
Exceptional Educators
In the tradition of Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, the SHA faculty of more than fifty provide context for Sacred Heart values in their teaching. Small class sizes enable teachers to understand the academic strengths and needs of each student. The college preparatory program often integrates literature, history, music, and art history of a period concurrently. Science, Technology, and STEM subjects are regularly taught with a hands-on approach, and Math classes focus on conceptual understanding. Faculty lend their hearts to the goal of empowering bright, compassionate girls and young women to make a difference.
BEYOND THE RED DOORS
Rooted in our history but always facing forward, SHA prepares students for beyond the Red Doors: toward college, career, and purposeful lives.
What Makes SHA Unique
While SHA is intentionally small, we're part of something larger. Unique among all area schools, SHA is a member of the International Sacred Heart Schools, comprised of 150+ schools in 41 countries. Within this consortium is the Network of Sacred Heart Schools composed of 25 schools in the United States and Canada. The groups connect SHA students in an international community that further prepare students, beginning in Kindergarten, for an increasingly global world, an appreciation for differences, and a compassion for all.
At SHA, we are faithful to our long-established Goals and Criteria which focus on developing self confident girls and young women, providing a challenging and inspiring education, deepening a love of God, and fostering a call to serve others.
And, while our beloved Traditions connect SHA students past and present, our Signature Programs prepare students for the future like no other school.
One-hundred percent of 2022 graduates continued their academic careers at college, and garnered more than $6,740,000 in scholarships.
Our graduates enroll in top colleges and universities including the following from the last three years: Boston College, Clemson University, Colgate University, College of Charleston, College of the Holy Cross, Drexel University, Elon University, Johns Hopkins University, Howard University, Penn State University, University of Michigan, University of Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, University of Richmond, Wake Forest University, and William & Mary among others.
Students from the Class of 2022 also enrolled in universities oversees including University of Essex (United Kingdom) and ESSEC Business School (France).
The SHA Middle School Lady Bots designed a robot with multiple missions focused on renewable resources. The team captured the Breakthrough Award at the Mid-Atlantic Robotics Skirmish.
Lower School students work in small groups, across K-4 grade levels, on STEM projects in the Innovation Center. Hands-on learning is the an everyday occurrence - not an exception - at SHA.
We know girls. SHA celebrates the power of an all-girl environment where each girl is valued and encouraged to become her best self.
A SHA education promotes a deep respect for intellectual values beginning with our youngest students. Girls are encouraged to take risks, become critical thinkers, and challenge themselves to be active agents in their education.
Small class sizes and the student: teacher ratio allow for vigorous classroom dialogue and deep learning. The integrated Humanities program extends beyond the classroom with meaningful field trips reflective of the curriculum. Alumnae often remark on their readiness for college, particularly as strong writers for research papers.
Middle School students work alongside their peers on important life skills such as active listening and public speaking. In this SHA Dialogue program, students find their voice and respect others in safe space. This further develops in the Upper School as the Courageous Conversations program.
Contacts:
Dr. Cara Saraco, Ed.D
Director of Academics
610-527-3915 ext. 224
Eileen Day
Director of Upper School
610-527-3915 ext. 229
Kimberley Trinacria
Director of Lower and Middle School | Campus Minister
610-527-3915 ext. 218
Education must be concerned not only with studies, but also with whatever may be required for the right ordering of life and requirement of a cultivated society."
- Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, Foundress