Ursuline Academy of Dallas

Ursuline Academy of Dallas is an independent Catholic college preparatory school for young women in grades 9-12. Educating students for 144 years, the Academy is the oldest continuously operating school in Dallas. With a distinguished tradition of academic excellence, innovation, and service, Ursuline educates young women for leadership in a global society.

We are Catholic with an Ursuline identity that forms the foundation for all decisions, planning for the future, and the ways in which cherished traditions are translated into new contexts for new generations. Girls take center stage at Ursuline Academy of Dallas. Our students are strongly encouraged to develop their own interests. And they are empowered to become bold leaders. Studies show that girls find it easier to excel and become more confident learners in a student-centered, all-girl setting. Throughout its 144-year history, Ursuline has lived in the center of both tradition and innovation. We are committed to providing a learning environment which stimulates creativity and curiosity, sparks innovation, and encourages collaboration.

Engaging the entire Ursuline community, the faculty-led Excellence in Teaching initiative has examined the core skills, knowledge, and habits of mind and heart of effective teaching to produce a definition of teaching excellence for Ursuline Academy of Dallas. In its preparation, that definition has also considered the core values of Ursuline education and the writings of St. Angela Merici. The resulting Pillars of Teaching Excellence offers a foundation for all Ursuline initiatives, including the development of a professional learning framework for faculty.

Ursuline Academy is a school with a technology focus. It embodies this focus through the meaningful integration of technology into the academic curriculum and in the active shaping of its students as digital citizens. Students and employees are educated in the appropriate use of technology and principles of responsible digital citizenship are reinforced through school policies. With a strong commitment to technology training for all teachers, Ursuline encourages creative and innovative uses of digital resources in the classroom.

A wide range of technological tools are used at Ursuline to foster individualized skill development, student learning, and more effective assessments. Included, for example, are 3D printers, Blackboard's Collaborative Ultra, language labs, Office 365, Web 2.0 tools, scientific logging hardware and software, computer programming authoring tools, publication software for the student newspaper and literary magazine, and library research resources.

Teachers also use technology to support their pedagogical approaches. Examples include the use of Story Remix, a video production and editing tool, and YouTube together with our learning management system to facilitate blended learning environments. Teachers have the freedom to explore different technologies to find those with which they are most comfortable and may use most effectively, and students have a wider range of technology-based learning techniques made available to them. In addition, all teachers participate in Microsoft Innovador Certification (MIE).

Ursuline Academy offers a rigorous college preparatory curriculum with additional opportunities for elective course work to support individual growth and development. Ursuline has also partnered with One Schoolhouse, an online curriculum, to maximize course offerings and minimize scheduling conflicts. These innovative learning models help in our student-centered world of learning.

Living in the center of tradition and innovation is a defining characteristic of Ursuline education. The Academy continually strives to improve, both as an educational institution and as a center of culture and faith. Always looking to the future, creating classrooms for tomorrow is a priority in Ursuline’s strategic roadmap. The most effective approaches to teaching and learning in the 21st century put the student at the very center.

Opportunities for students to collaborate with both their teachers and other students are being built into the learning environment. Programs, schedules, curriculum, and facilities are being designed to promote a variety of learning pathways – project-based learning, design-thinking, entrepreneurial and maker-driven approaches, blended personalization approaches, online instruction, and experiential learning. Most important are the dedicated, talented faculty who are mission-congruent, embrace innovation with a growth mindset, engage in personalized learning, and stay open to new approaches.

Ursuline Academy commits to educating global leaders focusing on the Ursuline mission through active service, intellectual enrichment, co-curricular programs (locally and abroad), sister school relationships, and other partnerships. Students engage in a variety of transformative experiences which help them grow in global competence. As they get to know and touch the realities of other cultures, they gain new appreciation for different perspectives and a better understanding of what it means to be a citizen of the world. They also have the opportunity to share a unique sisterhood with students around the globe.