La Canada Flintridge
California
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Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy
Mission
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy's mission is to educate young women in a holistic college preparatory program, where their unique gifts are viewed as essential for our world, where they are nurtured by a vibrant community of faith and where truth and love are the highest values.
About Us:
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose in 1931. The original mission-style buildings of the school, which were designed in 1927 as a resort hotel by noted Southern California architect Myron Hunt, overlook the San Gabriel Valley and the Pasadena Rose Bowl from the crest of the San Rafael hills.
The resort, built and originally managed by Senator Frank P. Flint, opened in 1927 as the Flintridge Hotel and was soon sold to the Biltmore Hotel chain. Unfortunately, the hilltop retreat was deemed too expensive (there were never more than 11 guests in the hotel at one time) and failed shortly after the onset of the Great Depression. During the same period, the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose were making plans to build a convent and girls’ school on a tract of land they had purchased in Sierra Madre.
When the resort failed, Archbishop Cantwell contacted the Sisters and suggested that the abandoned hotel would suit their needs. Following his advice, the Sisters purchased the entire resort, including the nine original buildings, hotel furnishings and surrounding land, at auction for $150,000.
As the legend has been passed down, on August 15, 1931, three Dominican Sisters traveled up the hill to take possession of their new school carrying with them a single five dollar bill and a statue of the Blessed Mother. Only two weeks later, the school opened for the first day of classes on September 2, 1931, with 200 students enrolled in grades one through 12.
Originally only for boarding students, FSHA first accepted day students in 1951 in response to changing demographic and social needs. The elementary grades were phased out and the school began to enroll only high school students.
The school began to draw its day population from a wide geographical area that now includes the entire Los Angeles basin, but with a concentration from neighboring communities of the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys. International boarding students have come to FSHA from all over the globe since the day the school was founded.
Since FSHA’s founding, the Dominican Sisters as well as many dedicated lay professionals have provided leadership and staffing for the school, the classrooms and the residence halls. Together, they have built a school committed to the development of young women through a challenging academic program which is complemented by a lasting commitment to arts education, a vibrant campus ministry and Christian service program, a competitive athletic program and a history rich in tradition.
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy's mission is to educate young women in a holistic college preparatory program, where their unique gifts are viewed as essential for our world, where they are nurtured by a vibrant community of faith and where truth and love are the highest values.
About Us:
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose in 1931. The original mission-style buildings of the school, which were designed in 1927 as a resort hotel by noted Southern California architect Myron Hunt, overlook the San Gabriel Valley and the Pasadena Rose Bowl from the crest of the San Rafael hills.
The resort, built and originally managed by Senator Frank P. Flint, opened in 1927 as the Flintridge Hotel and was soon sold to the Biltmore Hotel chain. Unfortunately, the hilltop retreat was deemed too expensive (there were never more than 11 guests in the hotel at one time) and failed shortly after the onset of the Great Depression. During the same period, the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose were making plans to build a convent and girls’ school on a tract of land they had purchased in Sierra Madre.
When the resort failed, Archbishop Cantwell contacted the Sisters and suggested that the abandoned hotel would suit their needs. Following his advice, the Sisters purchased the entire resort, including the nine original buildings, hotel furnishings and surrounding land, at auction for $150,000.
As the legend has been passed down, on August 15, 1931, three Dominican Sisters traveled up the hill to take possession of their new school carrying with them a single five dollar bill and a statue of the Blessed Mother. Only two weeks later, the school opened for the first day of classes on September 2, 1931, with 200 students enrolled in grades one through 12.
Originally only for boarding students, FSHA first accepted day students in 1951 in response to changing demographic and social needs. The elementary grades were phased out and the school began to enroll only high school students.
The school began to draw its day population from a wide geographical area that now includes the entire Los Angeles basin, but with a concentration from neighboring communities of the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys. International boarding students have come to FSHA from all over the globe since the day the school was founded.
Since FSHA’s founding, the Dominican Sisters as well as many dedicated lay professionals have provided leadership and staffing for the school, the classrooms and the residence halls. Together, they have built a school committed to the development of young women through a challenging academic program which is complemented by a lasting commitment to arts education, a vibrant campus ministry and Christian service program, a competitive athletic program and a history rich in tradition.