Convent of the Sacred Heart (New York City)

Convent of the Sacred Heart Sacratissimi Cordis Conventus
The convent is housed in the former Otto H. Kahn and James A. Burden houses (left to right)
Address
1 East 91st Street New York City, New York 10128 United States
Coordinates
Information
Type	Private, Day, College-prep
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1881
Founder	Society of the Sacred Heart
Head of school	Joseph J. Ciancaglini
Head of Upper School	Margaret Savino
Chaplain	Rev. John Kamas
Grades	PK — 12
Gender	Girls
Enrollment	670 (approx.) (2008)
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	Red and White
Athletics	-11 interscholastic sports -Colin Hope, Physical Education Department Chair
Athletics conference	AAIS, NYSAISAA
Mascot	Cardinal
Team name	Cardinals
Publication	Zenith (literary magazine)
Newspaper	Spirit of 91st Street
Yearbook	Cornerstone
Tuition	-Pre-kindergarten — US$25,600 -Junior kindergarten — $35,290 -Grades kindergarten through 12 — $44,735
Head of Middle School	Catherine Hubacz
Head of Lower School	Patricia Hult
Upper School Dean of Studies	Will Jennings
Upper School Dean of Students	Amanda Codina
Director of Admissions	Elizabeth Santini
Website	cshnyc.org

Convent of the Sacred Heart is an independent Roman Catholic all-girl school in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Teaching from pre-kindergarten all the way through to twelfth grade, it is located on Manhattan's Upper East Side at East 91st Street and Fifth Avenue.

The school is housed in the former Otto H. Kahn House and James A. Burden House, both of which are New York City-Designated Landmarks. It is one of the most selective and expensive schools in Manhattan.

History

Founded in 1881 by the Society of the Sacred Heart, a Roman Catholic congregation established in France in 1800, the school is New York City’s oldest private school for girls. The school was originally housed in a Manhattan brownstone on Madison Avenue at East 54th Street.

By the 1930s, the school had outgrown its Madison Avenue space and moved into the Kahn mansion. In 1940, the Society acquired the Burden mansion next door.

Since the 1980s, the school has experienced much growth and academic progress..

Membership and accreditation

In addition to being a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart and a part of the global Network of Sacred Heart Schools, a worldwide network of over 150 schools committed to the mission of a Sacred Heart education, the school is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools.

It is operated independently as part of the Network of Sacred Heart Schools.

The school is also associated with the New York Interschool Association.

Sacred Heart is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS). It is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, the Independent Schools Association of Greater New York, the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, the European Council of International Schools, the International Schools Association and the Network of Sacred Heart Schools in the United States.

Facilities

Sacred Heart is located in two historic mansions in the Carnegie Hill Historic District on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, at 1 East 91st Street and 7 East 91st Street, next to Central Park/5th Avenue and across the street from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum.

• 1 East 91st Street houses grade 5 through grade 12 (opened in 1934)

• 7 East 91st Street houses pre-kindergarten through grade 4 (opened in 1940)

In September 2008, The Convent of the Sacred Heart purchased a facility located at 406 East 91st Street which will become a new sports center. As of September 2014 the athletic center is still open.

Within the buildings at 1 East 91st Street and 7 East 91st Street there are:

• 4 Science Labs
• 2 Gymnasiums and a Fitness Room
• 4 Performance Spaces
• Photography Darkroom Studio
• 2 rooftop playgrounds
• Interactive Projectors in all classrooms for grades K-12
• 3 Libraries and Virtual Library Access
• Wireless Internet Access

Clubs and common-interest organizations

The school offers a range of clubs and activities for student participation including the Habitat for Humanity International, Amnesty International, student council and forensics (public speaking).

• There are 40+ after-school activities available every fall, winter and spring to Lower School students.

• There are 40+ clubs and activities available to Middle School students.

• There are 30+ clubs and activities available to Upper School students.

Over 40% of the sophomore class study abroad on exchange for 3 to 10 weeks to other schools in the Sacred Heart network including schools in France and in Spain for 10 weeks, and to Australia, Italy, Ireland, Canada and Taiwan for 3 weeks.

Athletics

The school participates in eleven interscholastic sports disciplines.

Enrollment, tuition and fees

Tuition and Payment for the 2011-2012 School Year:

Pre-Kindergarten: $28,500 Junior Kindergarten: $31,575 Kindergarten - Grade 12 : $42,810

• Average enrollment of students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12: 685

• The Lower School includes pre-kindergarten, junior kindergarten, kindergarten and grades 1 through 4

• The Middle School consists of grades 5 through 8

• The Upper School is made up of grades 9 through 12

• Students of color: 28%

• Average grade size (K-12): 50

• Student/Faculty Ratio: 7:1

Notable alumnae

• Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga), singer
• Nicky Hilton Rothschild, heiress and socialite
• Lourdes Benedicto, actress
• Jordana Brewster, actress and model
• Dorothy Donnelly, actress and playwright
• Magee Hickey, reporter
• Caroline Kennedy, attorney and diplomat
• Ethel Skakel Kennedy, human rights campaigner
• Jean Kennedy Smith, diplomat
• Joan Bennett Kennedy, socialite
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver, human rights activist
• Christa Miller, actress
• Minnie Mortimer, socialite
• Lia Neal, Olympic swimmer
• Emily Rutherfurd, actress
• Alix Smith, photographer
• Frederica von Stade, singer
• Elaine Stritch, actress and singer
• Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, socialite
• Charlotte Selina Wood, actress
• Karen Akers, actress and singer
• Harriet Sylvia Ann Howland Green Wilks, socialite and heiress
• Leah McSweeney, fashion designer
• Molly Fienning, co-founder, Babiators
• Suri Cruise, daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

In popular culture

Film and theatre

• The Anderson Tapes (1971)
• 9 to 5 (1980)
• Chicago (play - 1975; film - 2002) — in the song "We Both Reached For the Gun" the character, Roxie Hart, was said to have attended the school.
• The Verdict (1982)
• Working Girl (1988)

• A Perfect Murder (1998)
• Uptown Girls (2003)
• Night at the Museum (2006)
• Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)
• Duplicity (2009)

Falling for Grace (2006)

Literature and television

• A Very Gaga Thanksgiving (2011)
• Cashmere Mafia (Season 1)
• Gossip Girl (book series) — contains the line "two little Sacred Heart girls in their cute red and white checked pinafores were walking an enormous black Rottweiler" on page 86 in the first novel of the series.

• Law & Order
• Scrubs: Sacred Heart Hospital, where the series takes place, was named after the Convent of the Sacred Heart, where cast member (and wife of the series' screenwriter Bill Lawrence) Christa Miller (who portrays Jordan Sullivan) attended high school.
• White Collar

External links

• cshnyc.org, Convent of the Sacred Heart, official website
• sofie.org, Network of Sacred Heart Schools, official website
• aashnet.org The Associated Alumnae and Alumni of the Sacred Heart, official website
• burdenkahnmansion.org, The Otto Kahn and James Burden Mansions, official website

• "The Convent of the Sacred Heart School (originally the Otto and Addie Kahn House)", at "Tom Fletcher's New York Architecture Images and Notes" (nyc-architecture.com), an architecture fansite (undated)
• Gray, Christopher (1994-02-27). "Streetscapes/The Convent of the Sacred Heart; A Matter of Reconciling Preservation With Patina. The New York Times. article about restoration of the Burden mansion. Accessed 2009-10-10.