Villa Duchesne & Oak Hill School

Unique among our many signature programs is the fact that at Oak Hill all our teachers strive to teach in ways that girls learn best and in ways that boys learn best, all on one iconic campus. At Villa Duchesne, young women are active and engaged in their learning, trying something new and taking risks, sitting for AP exams, starring in a play, being a scholar and an athlete, not only finding her voice, but knowing how to use it, matriculating to some of the finest colleges and universities in the world.

These 60-plus acres are holy ground. We have been steeped in the Catholic faith and tradition since our inception. We proudly carry on that tradition, offering a worldview based on the Scriptures and the noble Tradition of the Church. In St. Louis, we have a distinguished past and a limitless future.

The principles of Sacred Heart education are as relevant today as they were in post-Revolutionary France. Madeleine Sophie Barat, who founded the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1800, envisioned a transformational education. Her vision was realized in the United States when Rose Philippine Duchesne arrived in Saint Charles, Missouri in 1818 to establish Sacred Heart education. Villa Duchesne was founded in 1929 in honor of this religious pioneer with Oak Hill founded in 1973.

Inspired by the vision of Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat, foundress of the Society of the Sacred Heart, Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School strives to educate the heart and mind of each child in a nurturing and challenging environment. We are dedicated to educating the whole child and preparing our students for lives of faith in God, integrity, leadership and service to others. Our mission is to transform the world, one child at a time.

The foundation of our mission and educational philosophy are the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart Schools. These give meaning and purpose to our objectives and unite us through a common thread with other Sacred Heart schools around the world. The strength of Sacred Heart education lies in the building of relationships around our values. Serious in principles, strong in studies and rich in the spirit of love and life, we are a Catholic school which takes great pride in living Saint Madeleine Sophie's vision.

Our school continues to nurture Saint Madeleine Sophie’s vision. We work in partnership with parents, who we believe are the single, most powerful influence in a child’s life. Together, we seek to transform each Child of the Sacred Heart in mind, body, and spirit. Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School is committed through the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart Schools to create, support, nurture, and celebrate a diverse community, thus carrying on the timeless Sacred Heart commitment to inclusion and mutual respect.

At Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School, we are committed to embrace diversity with all its textures and potential. The School seeks to provide an environment for learning and growth, whereby students welcome, embrace, and celebrate differences, including learning styles, physical ability, race, age, culture, ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic class and wherein they value and become transformed by these differences, in an increasingly interconnected global community.

To this end, the School will actively develop and implement a Diversity Plan approved by the Board of Trustees, develop and implement support programs, recruit faculty, staff and students of diverse backgrounds and experiences, with a goal of assuring on-going education of the entire School family to the values of inclusion as one of the essential hallmarks of a Sacred Heart Education.

Our students succeed in all of the conventional measures of a great secondary school, college acceptances, ACT scores, athletic success, and accolades in the theatre and arts, and we recognize that to be well educated and well prepared for her future, a student must learn both in and out of the classroom.

Our education is much more than what happens in the classroom. The experience is one in which the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart education are embedded into the daily life of the students. These five goals, by which all Sacred Heart schools in the United States are governed, are to commit to educate to: a personal and active faith in God, a deep respect for intellectual values, social awareness which impels to action, building of community as a Christian value, and personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom. We focus on the unique character, academic gifts, and the spiritual development of each student.

Our students strive for excellence in all aspects of their lives, and it is our responsibility as Sacred Heart educators to provide those opportunities. To this end, we consistently work to enhance our programs while celebrating the rich traditions that are Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School.