St. Theresa School is a private Catholic school

Catholic school

Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...

 located at 2701 Indian Mound Trail, Coral Gables

Coral Gables, Florida

Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. It is the parish school for the Church of the Little Flower

Church of the Little Flower (Coral Gables, Florida)

The Church of the Little Flower is a Catholic Church located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami at 1270 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables, Florida. Established in 1926, it is one of the oldest in the metropolitan Miami area and is considered an historic landmark...

.

History

In December 1922, the head of the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph

Sisters of St. Joseph

The title Sisters of St. Joseph applies to several Roman Catholic religious congregations of women. The largest and oldest of these was founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France...

, the Reverend Mother Marie Louise purchased from George Merrick six acres of land on Indian Mound Trail. This location was the highest elevation in the entire city. Ground was broken in October 1924 for the first unit of the new St. Joseph's Academy and construction was completed in September 1925. The convent was on the third story of the school.

Mother Marie Louise and five other sisters were the first teachers. The St. Joseph's Academy formal opening was September 15, 1925. During the first school year, seventy students enrolled, six of whom were boarders. The first graduating class of thirteen eighth graders and one twelfth grader was on May 28, 1926.

In 1932, St. Joseph's Academy was renamed St. Theresa School. By 1936, there were 450 students and 12 full time teachers. There was a new kindergarten building in 1947. In 1948, Father Comber had built a separate new convent.

In 1956, school enrollment was 1200. The last high school graduating class was in 1958 and had 42 graduates. The last ninth grade class was in 1959 and the school continues to have eight grades.

The Sisters of St. Joseph had the responsibility for teaching at St. Theresa School until 1987. The Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles

Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles

The Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles is a religious community of the Carmelite Order founded by Venerable Mother Maria Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament.-Patrons of the Order:* Saint Teresa of Avila* Saint John of the Cross...

 assumed that responsibility in 1991. Father Whittaker then converted the convent into a parish administration building. The Carmelite Sisters moved into a new convent located south of Father Comber Hall. As of 2009, there are currently 950 students attending the school from Pre-K through 8th Grade. It is accredited by the Florida Catholic Conference and recognized by the National Council for Private School Accreditation

National Council for Private School Accreditation

The National Council for Private School Accreditation is a private organization dedicated to accrediting American private schools on a national level. It was created in 1993 to form at-large standards after the U.S. Department of Education in 1985 deemed the Department did not have legal authority...

. Sister Rosalie, OCD, is the school principal.

First Sisters of St. Joseph at the School (1925)

• Mother Marie Louise
• Sister Cecilia
• Sister Francis Joseph
• Sister St. Mark
• Sister Monica
• Sister Winfred

First Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles at the School (1991)

• Sister Genevieve Marie Carvalho
• Sister Marisa Ducote
• Sister Rita Therese Hayden
• Sister Mary Rita Munoz
• Sister Mary Michael Ray

Principals

• Sister Mary Louise Hughes, SSJ (1925–1933)
• Sister Andrew McLoughlin, SSJ (1933–1934)
• Sister M. Augustine Curry, SSJ (1934–1937)
• Sister M. Norberta Maroney, SSJ (1937–1942)
• Sister M. Fidelis Kneiss, SSJ (1942–1945)
• Sister Anna Marie Chauvin, SSJ (1945–1953)
• Sister Anna Joseph Dignan, SSJ (1953–1959)
• Sister Mary Frederic McMahon, SSJ (1959–1962)
• Sister Louis Bertrand Duggan, SSJ (1962–68)
• Sister Margaret Victor Keller, SSJ (1968–1972)
• Sister Mary David Magee, SSJ (1972–1978)
• Mr. Fernando Villamor (1978–1987)
• Sister Margarite Renuart, OP (1987–1991)
• Sister Genevieve Marie Carvalho, OCD (1991–1993)
• Sister Marisa Ducote, OCD (1993–1995)
• Sister Maureen Cochrane, OCD (1995–2003)
• Sister Mary Kathleen Burns, OCD (2003–2006)
• Sister Rosalie Nagy, OCD (2006–Present )

Notable alumni

• Raoul G. Cantero, III
  Raoul G. Cantero, III
  Raoul G. Cantero, III is a Florida lawyer and a former Justice of the Florida Supreme Court.-Career:...
  
   - Former Justice
  Justice
  Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
  
   of the Florida Supreme Court
  Florida Supreme Court
  The Supreme Court of the State of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. The Supreme Court consists of seven judges: the Chief Justice and six Justices who are appointed by the Governor to 6-year terms and remain in office if retained in a general election near the end of each...
  
  .