Ursuline Academy - Catholic High School IL Ursuline Academy in Springfield, Illinois, was a Catholic High School formerly affiliated with Springfield College in Illinois (SCI). Ursuline Academy billed itself as "a college preparatory school". One offshoot of its partnership with SCI was a program which allows high school students to simultaneously receive high school and college credit for courses. Ursuline Academy was originally founded in 1857 by Mother Mary Joseph Wolfe, with its location at 5th and Mason streets. The Academy moved to its current and final location on 5th Street, north of Eastman, in 1867. The school originally opened as an all-girls school, but eventually allowed its first co-ed class in 1982. However, on May 11, 2007, the SCI-BU (Benedictine University) Board of Directors made the decision to close Ursuline at the end of the 2006-2007 school year. The Ursuline Principal, John Stimler, was notified the following day, and the students were then notified on May 14. Immediately following the announcement, several students and parents immediately began trying to come up with ways to bring the school back for the next school year. The Ursuline Academy Foundation was formed on May 22, 2007, to try to help get the school back on its feet, and to come up with the finances to do so. The Foundation did receive over $100,000 in donations. However, SCI-BU set a deadline that the school needed $500,000 by May 29. A lease was able to be made for the 6th Street building, so the school set an effort to get 150 students back into the school by June 4, 2007. This would come at a cost, however. Tuition at the Academy was raised from $4,500 per year to $6,200, in addition to other surcharges, making it far out of reach for several families. Sadly, only about a third of the needed 150 applied to go back. Ursuline Academy officially announced that its doors would remain closed the evening of June 4, thus ending 150 years of Ursuline tradition in Illinois. Your Ad Here Many have called the SCI/Benedictine handling of the school's closure a "PR nightmare" that will be hard for the local community to overcome. Several Ursuline alumni were rumored to withdraw from SCI's ranks in protest to the college's actions, and the University is not winning many friends with their recent decisions. Benedictine/SCI personnel have reportedly changed the locks on the Ursuline campus, just in time for the 150th Ursuline Class Reunion and Anniversary celebration, held from June 29, 2007 to July 1, 2007. Ireland welcomed French Ursulines from Dieppe in 1771 in Blackrock, Cork. From the school and convent came the Foundress of the Ursuline Convent in Springfield, Illinois. Morther Mary Joseph Woulfe, OSU, was born in Ireland in 1815. She was educated at Cork. During her time at the school she determined she wished to be an Ursuline. She was sent to France to "discern" her vocation. Bishop John England of Charleston, South Carolina, went to France to solicit nuns for his diocese. Harriet Woulfe joined the group. They arrived on December 10, 1834 in Charleston. The clothing day for Harriet Woulfe was May 19, 1835 in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1852, Bishop England died, and was replace by Bishop Reynolds. This Bishop confiscated the property used/owned by the Ursulines. The Ursulines left and went to Covington, Kentucky. In 1847, they opened a school on Bank Street in Cinncinnati, Ohio. In 1854, the covent was dissolved. Six Ursulines went to Brown County Ursulines, three went to New Orleans, two back to Ireland , Mother Mary Joseph Woulfe and Mary Charles Maloney, not to Cork but to Sligo. In 1855 Bishop Juncker was consecrated for Alton Diocese in Illinois. He asked for Sisters to work and teach in his diocese. Hence, the Ursulines from Ireland, came to Springfield via Brown County, Ohio. Ursulines arrive in Springfield, Illinois on August 21, 1857. They spent the night in the Old St. Nicholas Hotel. They then moved into the Farnsworth House and opened the school on September 7, 1857. The Ursulines purchased the Franklin House in 1858 and moved in on August 20, 1858. On September 6, 1858 they opened a "free" school, St. Angela's, as well as the tuition based school. Up to 1867 St. Angela's was the only "parish" school for girls in the city. February, 1859, the convent was legaly incorporated as the Springfield Ursuline Convent of St. Joseph. In 1861, or 1862 Judge William Power of the Sangamon County Court remitted all back taxes and said that in the future such taxes would not be levied. Main event of the first ten years was the purchase of 6 1/2 acres of Allen's Grove on Fifth Street. This property was some distance north of where the nuns lived and worked on 6th Street. Ground breaking: August 15, 1865. The first Mass was celebrated on September 25, 1867 in the new convent. Ursuline Academy is a coeducational high school that encourages students to recognize their potential, develop their gifts, and influence society today and tomorrow in the spirit of the school's motto SERVIAM which translates , " I will serve." The school, founded by the Ursuline Sisters in 1857 in Springfield, Illinois, primarily serves those who seek an excellent preparatory education in the Catholic tradition. The school respects the uniqueness and wholeness of each member of the school community, encourages significant participation in that community, and encourages its students to become critical thinkers and lifelong learners. Tradition of Core Values in Ursuline Education Emphasizing the Individual, the Whole Person Developing Leaders Creating Community Sharing the Heritage of St. Angela, Foundress Promoting Social Consciousness Through Service Encouraging Positive Attitude Toward Change Nurturing Spirituality Striving for Excellence