Values for a Lifetime

St Nicholas Academy is Cincinnati’s premier regional Catholic elementary school. The school enrolls a mix of students from more than six different communities and twenty four zip codes. Working collaboratively, the parishes of Holy Trinity Norwood, St. John’s, Deer Park and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Reading strive to provide a quality Catholic education. St. Nicholas Academy builds on the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s graded course of study with foreign language, technology instruction, Seeds of Service; a Christian out reach program, along with a Constructive Response writing program. The 32 acre wooded campus and state of the art athletic facilities enhance the educational experience. St. Nicholas Academy aims to educate the whole child. An intervention team of licensed specialists assist classroom teachers. Nutritious, hot lunches served daily in accordance with the federal lunch program. On site before and after school care is available. St. Nicholas Academy.
We are very excited about the creation of the region's first Inter-Parish School and believe that this model has a lot to offer to our children and families.  Please take a moment to get to know us by reviewing our website and/or by contacting the School Office.  We are very excited to launch into the next wave of Catholic Education in our region and hope you are willing and able to join us as we Envision the Future.

For prospective families, the best place to research would be to start at the beginning... Our History.  While our history is very brief it explains why these parishes have converged to create and sustain what we believe is the future of Catholic Education.  We have reproduced the highlights of that content in the below text.

St. Nicholas Academy opens its doors to welcome students in August, 2007.  The formation of this first Inter-Parish Catholic elementary school in the Cincinnati area began with a desire to sustain Catholic Education in the area, improving the quality of the services provided, and by a collaboration to Envision The Future of Catholic Education.  This collaboration began when the pastors and a core of parish members from two parishes, St. John the Evangelist and Holy Trinity, met and determined that together, we could provide what we could not do separately.

What is different about our school model is that it is not a consolidation or a merger.  It is an interparish school, formed by a covenant relationship between the parishes and the school itself.  This model has met with great success in several other U.S. dioceses and was introduced to us through Rev. Joseph Atcher, Vicar for Education of the Archdiocese of Louisville.

Our program includes a pre-school, before and after school care, a full day kindergarten, and grades one through eight.  We have a fine arts program, including art instruction, music, introduction to the Spanish language, and library program.  We have weekly liturgies with the children and a strong religious education program, including sacramental preparation.

 An important part of our history is the formation of a parent group called PLAN (Parents Looking Ahead Now).  This group formed independently and with encouragement of the pastors to act as a catalyst with other school parents and parishioners.  The met frequently with parent groups, principals, and pastors encouraging them to work together rather than separately to ensure a viable Catholic school for this area of the city.  Without their hard work and dedication St. Nicholas Academy would never have come to birth.

On the following pages you can find further information about us, including registration forms, our curriculum and staff directory.  We welcome all inquiries and the members of PLAN are happy to assist any parish seeking information about this model of Catholic education.