Values for a Lifetime

In 1910, at the invitation of Archbishop Henry K. Moeller, Mother Fidelis Coleman and a small group of 20 sisters arrived in Cincinnati to begin the task of educating the city's youth in the Ursuline tradition. That first year, 63 pupils enrolled at St. Ursula Academy in Walnut Hills. The grade school was co-educational while the high school was for girls only. In the ensuing years, guided by the writings of St. Angela Merici, the Sisters established a reputation for academic excellence.

In 1960, in order to accommodate continued expansion, the Sisters bought the R.K. LeBlond estate in Mt. Lookout, which had been willed to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Archbishop Paul F. Leibold formally blessed the new property on January 2, 1961. The following day, eager 7th and 8th graders began attending classes in the Manor House of St. Ursula Villa School. With Sister Mary Lawrence Hartmann as the first principal, a new multipurpose building was constructed in 1962. Increasing enrollment necessitated the building of additional classroom space in 1971.

Today over 485 children from preschool through eighth grade are enrolled at the Villa. The buildings and grounds of the 20-acre estate have been modified to provide for the needs of an active student body. School facilities now include preschool and kindergarten classrooms, a multipurpose room, science and computer labs, a library, a gym, athletic fields, extensive lawn and wooded areas, and well-equipped playgrounds. An addition of a primary building was opened in August 1999 to accommodate Grades 1 to 3 in six classrooms and a gym. In 2009, construction was completed on the Villa Way, providing outdoor education and playspaces, and air conditioning was installed in the main school building.

Expanded enrollment has led to an expanded faculty, including art, music, foreign language, enrichment program, and physical education teachers, computer and library science instructors, a speech pathologist, counselor, and learning and remedial specialists. After-school care and summer programs are also offered.

An ongoing commitment by parents to various volunteer activities continues to provide a spirit of community within the School. In the early 1990's, both the Sisters and parents saw the wisdom of transferring the school's governance to an independent Board of Trustees. This development gives St. Ursula Villa a solid foundation upon which to continue its tradition of academic excellence.