History and Tradition

Celebrating the Past. Embracing the future.

The Academy of the Holy Angels, the oldest private school in Bergen County, was founded in 1879 in Fort Lee, NJ by Sister Mary Nonna Dunphy, a School Sister of Notre Dame, as a boarding and day school for girls that educated students from Kindergarten to 12th Grade. What began in a simple frame house in Fort Lee has grown into a premier college-preparatory school. Originally known as Holy Angels' Collegiate Institute for Young Ladies and Preparatory School for Little Girls, the Institute attracted students from all over the world who came to study language, the arts and Christian Doctrine. The school’s enrollment increased steadily and the facilities were expanded accordingly. The cross-surmounted dome of the Academy, erected in 1910, remained a landmark in Fort Lee until the Academy moved to a new facility in Demarest in 1965.

Although the Academy's campus relocated, their vision, interest in a global curriculum and focus on the empowerment of young women in grades 9 through 12 remains steadfast. For more than 135 years, the Academy has been part of a global network of SSND schools in the United States. The Academy’s vision, global curriculum and empowerment of young women have grown even stronger and is guided by the charism and educational philosophy of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

Our Third Century

The Academy looks forward to the future with faith and hope to continue to educate young women in the conviction that the world can be changed through the transformation of persons.

For a futher look at the history of Holy Angels, please view the work done in the Autumn of 2000 by S. Rita Goodman '50, SSND. Academy of the Holy Angels: Spanning Three Centuries by S. Rita Goodman, SSND »

AHA Traditions