Visitation Academy of St. Louis (Viz)
Address
3020 North Ballas Road Town and Country , St. Louis , Missouri 63131 United States
Coordinates	38°38′12″N 90°26′29″W / 38.63667°N 90.44139°W / 38.63667; -90.44139
Information
Type	Private, All-Girls
Motto	Live + Jesus
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1833; 191 years ago (1833)
Founder	The founders of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary are St. Jane de Chantal and St. Francis de Sales
School number	(314)-625-9100
Head of school	David Colón
Faculty	53 Full time, 21 part time 85% have advanced degrees
Grades	PK–12
Enrollment	Toddler-5: 104 Grades 6-8: 138 Grades 9-12: 304[1] (2015)
Student to teacher ratio	9:1
Hours in school day	7 hours
Color(s)	Red and White
Song	Visitation, We Thy Daughters
Athletics conference	Metro Women's Athletics Association
Nickname	Viz
Team name	Vivettes
Accreditation	Independent School Association of the Central States
Publication	Vizions (literary magazine)
Newspaper	Paper Moon
Yearbook	Crescent
Tuition	$19,985 (2017-18)[2]
Student Website	The Vivette Times
Website	www.visitationacademy.org

Visitation Academy of St. Louis is a private, all-girls, Roman Catholic school in Town and Country, Missouri^[3] (St. Louis postal address), in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. It is a work of the Visitation Sisters who founded it in 1833.

History

Visitation Academy was established in Kaskaskia, Illinois, in 1833 by a group of sisters from the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary. The group originated from the Georgetown Visitation Monastery in Washington, DC, and were invited by Bishop Joseph Rosati of St. Louis to start a school in the region.

The school moved to St. Louis in 1844, in part due to flooding in Kaskaskia. The school moved again in 1892 and moved once more to the current location in 1962.^[4]

Schools

Visitation Academy is divided into three schools: Lower (preschool through grade 5), Middle (grades 6 through 8), and Upper (grades 9 through 12). The preschool is co-educational and uses the Montessori method; kindergarten through 12th grade are for girls only. The Lower School is the only all-girls school at that level in the St. Louis region.^[5]

The school is known for its small size. The Lower-Middle School has approximately 240 students; the Upper School approximately 300.^[1]

Academics

Visitation is known regionally for its rigorous academics. Students participate in the Advanced Placement (AP) program and in St. Louis University's 1818 college credit program.^[6]

The school offers classes in Latin, Spanish, and French. Lower School students receive instruction in both French and Spanish.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

The Lower School competes in the Catholic Youth Council of St. Louis (CYC) in soccer, basketball, and volleyball.

The Upper School participates in the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA). Sports for fall include golf, tennis, softball, cross country, field hockey, and volleyball. Winter sports include swimming, diving, racquetball, basketball, and cheerleading. In the spring, lacrosse, track and field, and soccer are played.^[7]

Fine arts

The Upper School stages several plays throughout the school year, including musicals, dramas, and student-directed plays. The theater program auditions boys from area boys' schools or co-ed schools for male parts, and sometimes recruits girls from the Lower School for child parts, e.g. for the orphans during a staging of Oliver!.

The music program in the Upper School includes a vocal choir, a handbell choir, and a liturgical choir. Two concerts are staged each year, one in the spring and one at Christmas. The Lower School also holds Christmas and Spring concerts.

The school has an art gallery where student work is displayed and, sometimes, sold. Art shows are also held in conjunction with the Upper School Spring and Christmas Concerts.^[8]

Notable alumnae

• Madonna Buder, Catholic religious sister and triathlete, known as the Iron Nun^[9]
• Pauline Pfeiffer, journalist; second wife of Ernest Hemingway
• Mary Engelbreit, 1970, graphic artist, designer, author, illustrator, entrepreneur
• Dorothy Morton, actress and soprano
• Lucille Mullhall, attended 1899–1900, America's first 'Cowgirl' declared by Teddy Roosevelt
• Belle Hunt Shortridge (1858–1893), American author
• Katherine Fogertey, 2001, Chief Financial Officer at Shake Shack
• Katie Walsh, 2003, American politician