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 90 towns in New Jersey and nearly 30 towns 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
2024 National Recognition Program Awards
National Merit Scholarship Program .
(Commended, Semi-Finalists, and Finalists)
National Hispanic Recognition Program ...........................................11
National First-Generation Recognition Program ...............................
National African American Recognition Program .............................
Class of 2024
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 17
ACADEMICS
Curriculum
• 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 Advanced Placement (AP) classes.
• Students are not encouraged to take more than three AP courses per year.
• AP courses are not introduced until sophomore year. AP Computer Science Principles and AP European History are the only options for sophomores.
• 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
Tara Tashjian Maka ’02, Director of Guidance • Melissa O’Sullivan, Director of College Counseling
Ellen Donoghue ’76, School Counselor • Paul McGinnis, School Counselor • Rosemary Cali P’12, ’15, ’19, ’23, School Counselor Corinne Fritzky, College Counselor • Allison Anderson, Secretary
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. The CP and CPE designations were added to transcripts in the fall of 2023. All non-honor/AP courses prior to the change were CPE.
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 21 Advanced Placement (AP) courses offered at IHA.
• AP courses include Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Comparative Government, Computer Science A, Computer Science Principles, Language and Composition, 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 courses 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 fastpaced, 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.
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 six 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 SAT
2024 AP Exam Results:
• 35 AP Scholars (Scholars, Scholars with Honors, and Scholars with Distinction)
• 73% of seniors took at least one AP course
• Of 143 test takers, 123 scored a 3 or higher on at least one exam
• Of 143 test takers, 104 scored a 4 or higher on at least one exam
• Of 272 total AP exams taken in 20 subject areas, 83% of the scores were 3 or higher
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, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Kean University, Ramapo College, and Seton Hall University.
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 2023-24 academic year was the Class of 2024, with nearly 11,000 hours. Additionally, IHA students have accumulated a total of
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904 President’s Volunteer Service Awards, with 81 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
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.
SCHOOL PROFILE
904 President’s Volunteer Service Awards since 2015 85% of seniors enrolled in AP classes
55 electives offered 100% attending four-year colleges
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21 AP courses offered 28+K total service hours in 2023–24
76 clubs and sports offered $45M in scholarships earned 11,188
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