Kimberly Reilly, Director of Marketing and CommunicationsFor most of my career in higher education marketing and communications, I sat on the receiving end of "college preparatory." I saw what universities actually valued in the students who arrived on campus, and what separated the applicants who thrived from the ones who merely got in. Coming to the other side of that pipeline has sharpened a belief I only had in outline form before. A rigorous academic program is necessary, but it was never sufficient on its own. Families walking through our doors today are asking a bigger question: will this school invest in the whole young woman, on every front that matters to her future?
At Mount Saint Joseph Academy, an all-girls Catholic college preparatory school outside Philadelphia founded in 1858 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph, we've spent the last year answering that question with action rather than promises. I'd argue what we're building reflects where Catholic college prep is headed more broadly and it's worth naming directly.
Academic leadership starts with people, not just programs. An already rigorous curriculum only gets stronger with fresh leadership pushing it forward. Our new Principal has taken that charge seriously, elevating academic rigor across departments while keeping the personal attention that small, single-sex education makes possible.
Facilities have to match ambition. Words on a viewbook don't win championships or build confidence. This fall, our student-athletes move into a new $16 million Athletic Center—a facility built to match results that already rank among the best in our region for girls' athletics. Alongside it, a dual-bay golf simulator lets our golf program train year-round, continuing a run of 25 consecutive league titles that speaks for itself. When a school says athletics matter, the building should say so too.
College counseling deserves the same rigor as the classroom. We've rebuilt our college counseling program from the ground up, because getting into the right school, not just a school—takes more than a checklist. It takes people who know each student well enough to advocate for her specifically.
Support has to be universal, not optional. Perhaps the shift I'm proudest of: our learning support program is moving into a larger, newly designed space and it remains free and fully integrated into our academic program for every student who needs it, whether she's in an AP course or working toward a foundational skill. Equity isn't a footnote to rigor; it's part of what makes rigor possible for every student, not just some.
Technology has to serve the classroom, not just the inbox. We've launched a forward-looking instructional technology program designed to strengthen our college preparatory curriculum directly, helping faculty integrate new tools thoughtfully into how they teach, not just how the school communicates. It's paired with a new physical presence on campus: an office built on the same idea as an Apple Genius Bar, where students and teachers can walk in and get real, individual help with the technology shaping how they learn.
Innovation means rethinking the spaces students already trust. That instructional technology hub sits steps from our library, which is itself evolving into a true student support center—instructional technology, learning support and academic help all in one place, built around a simple instinct: put expertise where students already are and make it easy to ask for help.
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Catholic college prep isn't a fixed curriculum handed down unchanged; it's a living commitment to ask, every year, what a young woman needs to thrive and then build it.
Leadership development can't be an elective. Our Robotics program, which is the oldest and most decorated all-girls team in the country, continues to grow and we're expanding our service team offerings so more young women can build leadership skills through service to others, regardless of their family's ability to fund the experience externally.
None of this is coincidental, and none of it is finished. We're developing an internship program and a young alumni professional connection network next, because preparation shouldn't stop at graduation, it should extend into the first steps of a career.
The six Sisters of St. Joseph who left Le Puy, France on their mission to America didn't build cautiously. They built for the young women in front of them, and for the ones who hadn't arrived yet. That's still the standard. Catholic college prep isn't a fixed curriculum handed down unchanged; it's a living commitment to ask, every year, what a young woman needs to thrive and then build it. We intend to keep building.
