The academy, which has seen its graduating classes achieve a remarkable 100% college acceptance rate for the past two years, is desperately seeking donations , with an ambitious goal of reaching a $1 billion endowment, as reported by nola.com . “We’re trying to operate a well-oiled machine without the oil,” lamented President and Interim Principal Pamela Rogers, who has been with St. Mary’s for 19 years. “People who work here work because it’s a calling. They’re not compensated for their value.”
The school was founded in 1867 by Mother Henriette DeLille’s Sisters of the Holy Family, an order of African American nuns in New Orleans. Upon assuming the school’s leadership, Rogers revealed that the sisters lacked a substantial endowment.
During an episode of 60 Minutes , Rogers shared how St. Mary’s Academy narrowly escaped complete closure after Hurricane Katrina’s devastating impact in 2005. The school’s original site was submerged under seven feet of water, necessitating the complete demolition of the building.
The episode also delved into the academy’s profound history. DeLille, a Creole nun born in 1812 to a White Frenchman father and a mother who was a free person of color; she was the great-granddaughter of a West African slave, and defied anti-literacy laws to educate slaves and free people of color, inspired by her Catholic faith and desire to help others. “We continue to move forward with her vision,” Rogers affirmed, echoing the school’s founding principles. “We teach young women to give service, to empower themselves, [and] to be in the community. We teach them to grow spiritually, intellectually…to be good people and give to one another.”
The “60 Minutes” episode has garnered major attention for the school, including from civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who stated, “WOW,” expressing excitement about its achievements on X. As previously covered by BLACK ENTERPRISE , St. Mary’s students Calcea Johnson and Ne’Kiya Jackson made mathematical history during their senior year in 2022 by independently proving the 2,000-year-old Pythagorean Theorem using trigonometry.
WOW! For 17 years, the private all-girls private St. Mary’s Academy in New Orleans has had a 100% college acceptance rate. Calcea Johnson & Ne’Kiya Johnson, math prodigies who in 2022 solved a 2,000-year-old mathematical puzzle, are testaments to this school’s excellence!
