AIC/MHA Alumnae -- Academy Immaculate Conception, Marian Heights Academy

Academy Immaculate Conception, a girls boarding school owned and operated by the Sisters of St. Benedict for 130 years, opened in 1870, three years after the sisters founded Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand. The school was established to provide an education for girls who wished to acquire proficiency in the fine and practical arts. By 1912, the Academy had obtained secondary-school accreditation by the State of Indiana, offering a four-year educational program terminating with a high school diploma. The Academy took on the identity of an international school in the 1970s, enrolling more students from Mexico, Japan, and other countries, and offering a comprehensive English-as-a-Second-Language program. The school name was changed to Marian Heights Academy in 1973. Accredited by the State of Indiana, North Central Association of Schools and Colleges, and the Independent Schools Association of the Central States, the Academy was recognized by the United States Department of Education in 1986 as one of the nation’s outstanding high schools. In 2000, because of increasing costs for operating the school, decreasing enrollment, and concerns about the future of girls boarding schools in the United States, the sisters made the decision to close the Academy.

The Academy Alumnae Association was formed in 1925. All who have attended Academy Immaculate Conception/Marian Heights Academy and those who have served on the staff of the school are members of the Alumnae Association. A board of directors provides leadership for the association. The Academy Alumnae Reunion is held annually on the last Sunday of June.

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