2023 School Profile

2023-24

SCHOOL PROFILE

OVERVIEW

School History & Community

Immaculate Heart Academy is located in a small suburban township in Northwest Bergen County. It was founded in 1960 by the Archdiocese of Newark. Our students come from more than 80 towns in New Jersey and 18 in New York.

Admissions Policy

Admission to Immaculate Heart Academy is competitive. The student’s application is evaluated on the basis of her elementary school records, recommendations of teachers and the principal, an essay, and test scores on the High School Placement Test (HSPT for the COOP).

Accreditations and Memberships

• Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools

• New Jersey Association of Independent Schools (NJAIS)

• Blue Ribbon School of Excellence (U.S. Department of Education)

• National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)

• College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB)

• College Board

• National Honor Society

HONORS AND AWARDS

IHA sponsors the following National Honor Society Chapters:

• French Honor Society

• International Thespian Society (ITS)

• Italian Honor Society

• Mu Alpha Theta National Mathematics Honor Society

• National Honor Society

• National Art Honor Society

• Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society

• Science National Honor Society

• Spanish Honor Society (Reina Sofia Chapter)

• Tri-M (Modern Music Masters)

Scholarship Awards for IHA Students to Attend Colleges/Universities

2023 $40 Million 2021 $51 Million 2022 ......................... $41 Million 2020 ................. $43 Million

DEMOGRAPHICS

Faculty and Staff

Immaculate Heart Academy is staffed by 100 members. Approximately 73% of the faculty has one or more master’s degrees. Many have pursued post-master’s work and seven have doctoral degrees. The IHA Guidance Department consists of four full-time guidance counselors and the IHA College Counseling Department consists of two full-time college counselors.

Student Body

Enrollment (9-12) 650

Student-Teacher Ratio 12:1

Average Class Size ................. 16

ACADEMICS

Curriculum

• Extensive curriculum fosters intellectual growth, creative curiosity, and a sense of values while preparing students to embrace a college curriculum with enthusiasm.

• 10 Academic Departments: Communications, English, Mathematics, Physical Education, Science, Social Studies, Technology, The Arts, Theology, and World Language.

• All core courses are offered at College Preparatory Enriched and Honors levels. Enriched classes provide academic challenge above our excellent college preparatory level and help students to prepare for success in honors and eventually AP classes.

• AP courses are limited by pre-requisites, scheduling, and teacher approval.

• All courses at Immaculate Heart Academy bear significant rigor with strong writing and critical thinking components.

Guidance and College Counseling Departments

Academic Levels: CP/CPE/H/AP

Immaculate Heart Academy offers a demanding academic program. Classes are offered at four levels of rigor: College Preparatory, College Preparatory Enriched, Honors, and Advanced Placement. All levels are highly challenging and provide excellent preparation for college.

College Preparatory (CP) courses are offered in limited subjects to ensure students build the content mastery they need to thrive in college and beyond.

College Preparatory Enriched (CPE) courses are available at all levels. CPE classes at Immaculate Heart Academy are classes that go beyond basic subject mastery and are intended to prepare students for classes at the college level. As such, students taking these courses are required to develop a strong work ethic, organizational skills, effective time management, and the ability to work independently.

Honors (H) courses are available through all grade levels in English, Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Art.

• Honors level classes at Immaculate Heart Academy require mastery of the skills developed on the college preparatory level. As such, these courses not only require students to possess a strong work ethic, organizational skills, effective time management, and the ability to work independently, but also requires students to be able to handle an increased workload with extensive independent work.

• To succeed in these courses, students must think critically and demonstrate advanced problem-solving skills. Students are expected to possess a level of mastery in both critical reading and analytical writing as well spoken language skills.

There are 20 Advanced Placement (AP) courses offered at IHA.

• AP courses include Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Comparative Government, Computer Science A, English (Language and Composition), English (Literature and Composition), Environmental Science, European History, French Language and Culture, Italian Language and Culture, Physics C, Physics 1, Precalculus, Psychology, Spanish Language and Culture, Statistics, Studio Art, and US History

• AP courses at Immaculate Heart Academy adhere to the national curriculum, put forth by the College Board, that provides students with advanced college-level coursework.

• These courses build upon the skills developed at the honors level. As such, these course not only require students to possess a strong work ethic, excellent organizational skills, effective time management, the ability to work independently in an extensive manner, advanced critical thinking and problem-solving skills, superior critical reading, and analytical writing skills, but also the ability to maintain the rigorous demands of an extremely fast-paced, college-level course.

• AP courses require an extensive amount of independent study and work on the part of the student. Students taking these courses are expected and encouraged to sit for the AP exam.

• AP European History is available as early as sophomore year.

Reporting of Grades/Statement of Class Rank

IHA runs on a quarterly schedule. Considering the quality of the student body and the rigorous college prep course of study, Immaculate Heart Academy does not rank its students. Individual course grades are not weighted, but a student’s cumulative grade point average is calculated using the following system of weighting:

Scholae@theheart

IHA’s inaugural Scholae@theheart Program launched in the 2022-23 academic year. This novel program enhances IHA’s superlative college preparatory curriculum by providing increased opportunities for specialization and recognition in areas that capitalize on students’ strengths and interests.

All of the scholae share a common liberal arts core curriculum. Scholars enrolled in one of the five initial scholae offered at IHA benefit from guided course selection, exposure to community professionals within the chosen emphasis field, afterschool enrichment opportunities, and the experience of developing a capstone synthesis presentation in their senior year. All successful scholars receive a designation on their transcripts.

STEM@theheart

IHA’s STEM program offers our most rigorous course load for students who plan to pursue further study and careers in the STEM fields. Classes focus on the four Cs: communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking. Enrollment is limited to academically qualified students and by interview only.

IHA

PSAT

The Class of 2024 has achieved the following results for the PSAT:

IHA PSAT Mean Scores: ERW — 568 (National Average — 506) Math — 509 (National Average — 488)

IHA SAT

2023 AP Exam Results:

• 33 AP Scholars (Scholars, Scholars with Honors, and Scholars with Distinction)

• 69% of seniors took at least one AP course

• Of 103 test takers, 82 scored a 3 or higher on at least one exam

• Of 103 test takers, 62 scored a 4 or higher on at least one exam

• Of 210 total AP exams taken in 18 subject areas, 76% of the scores were 3 or higher

Minimum Requirements for Graduation

10,683. Additionally, IHA students have accumulated a total of 823 President’s Volunteer Service Awards, with 83 this year alone. The President’s Volunteer Service Award, founded in 2003 by the United States President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, recognizes the important role of volunteers in America’s strength and national identity.

Athletics

In addition to subject area curriculum, Immaculate Heart Academy requires students to be involved in Christian Service activities. Each student must complete a prescribed number of social justice and volunteering hours each year.

College/High School Partnerships

Project Acceleration, in conjunction with Seton Hall University, allows our students to accrue college credit from Seton Hall University in a variety of subjects.

Dual Enrollment courses are offered through Bergen Community College in our Performing Arts Department and through Kean University in our Social Studies Department.

Service

Service at Immaculate Heart isn’t just something that is required; it’s a central part of who we are. IHA students put their faith into action by serving their immediate community and ministering to people in need through interactive service opportunities. By participating in the IHA Service Program, students apply their Catholic Christian values by practicing them in projects that expand their awareness of God, others, and themselves. Based on this call to action, IHA requires students to complete hours in two categories: Social Justice and Volunteerism.

Over the last year, our students served a total of 28,000+ service hours. On average, IHA’s young women serve double the amount of hours required of them. The highest achieving class in the 2022-23 academic year was the Class of 2024, with a total of

Adelphi University

Alabama State University

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Albany State University

Albright College

Alvernia University

American University

Amherst College

Anglo-American University

Appalachian State University

Arcadia University

Arizona State University

Auburn University

Augustana College

Ave Maria University

Babson College

Baldwin Wallace University

Bard College

Barnard College

Barry University

Bates College

Baylor University

Belmont Abbey College

Belmont University

Bennington College

Bentley University

The success of our scholar-athletes at Immaculate Heart Academy is a reflection of the focus, commitment, and team ethic that enrich everything we do. Within our 16 athletic programs, IHA teams dominate at the league, county, sectional, and state levels and are recognized with a wide variety of Coach, Player, and Team of the Year awards each year. In the past decade, more than 1,000 IHA athletes have earned all-conference honors and more than 500 have earned all-county honors. Even more impressive is that our student-athletes perform on and off the field, with some of IHA’s highest GPAs.

2022–23 School Highlights

73% of faculty hold advanced degrees

77% of seniors enrolled in AP classes

20 AP courses offered

55 electives offered

823 President’s Volunteer Service Awards since 2015

IHA COLLEGES ACCEPTED/ATTENDING 2020–23

Bergen Community College

Berklee College of Music

Berry College

Binghamton University

Boston College

Boston Conservatory at Berklee

Boston University

Bowdoin College

Brandeis University

Brown University*

Bryant University

Bryn Mawr College

Bucknell University

Butler University

Cabrini University

California Polytechnic Institute

Caldwell University

California College of the Arts

California Institute of the Arts

California State University-Los

Angeles

Campbell University

Carnegie Mellon University

Case Western Reserve University

Cazenovia College

Central Connecticut State University

Champlain College

Chapman University

Chatham University

Chicago State University

Christendom College

Christopher Newport University

Claremont McKenna College

Clark Atlanta University

Clemson University

Coastal Carolina University

Colby College

Colgate University

College of Charleston

College of Mount Saint Vincent

College of Staten Island CUNY

College of the Holy Cross

Colorado College

Colorado State University

Columbia College Chicago

Columbia University*

Columbus College of Art and Design

Commonwealth University

Connecticut College

Cooper Union

Cornell University*

Corning Community College

Creighton University

100% attending four-year colleges

66 clubs and sports offered

28+K total service hours in 2022–23

$40M in scholarships earned

11,022 total alumnae

Culinary Institute of America

CUNY Bernard M Baruch

College

CUNY Brooklyn College

CUNY City College

CUNY Hunter College

CUNY John Jay College of

Criminal Justice

Curry College

Dartmouth College*

Davidson College

Denison University

DePaul University

DeSales University

Dickinson College

Dominican University New York

Drew University

Drexel University

Duke University

Duquesne University

East Carolina University

East Stroudsburg

Eckerd

Elizabethtown

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Emerson College

Emmanuel College

Emory University

Endicott College

Fairfield University

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Fashion Institute of Technology

Felician University

Fisher College

Fisk University

Flagler College

Florida Atlantic University

Florida Gulf Coast University

Florida Institute of Technology

Florida International University

Florida Southern College

Florida State University

Fordham University

Franciscan University of Steubenville

Franklin and Marshall College

Franklin Pierce University