"Upon This Rock Blog"

By Father Don

KCMO's Catholic Colleges

Saint Teresa’s Academy (STA) is Kansas City’s oldest high school, founded in 1866 on Quality Hill of our fledgling downtown. The girls’ school, operated by the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet (CSJs), moved to its Windmoor Campus (55th and Main Street) in 1909. The next year Rockhurst High School for boys and College for men were established at 52nd and Troost Avenue by the Society of Jesus (SJs or Jesuits). A few years later, the CSJ Community added a two-year college for women at STA. In 1930 the junior college affiliated with Saint Joseph Hospital as a Nursing School and in 1940 it became a four-year institution renamed as The College of Saint Teresa. It experienced quick growth and decided, in the early 1960s, to move south to 119th and Wornall Road. Going co-ed in 1969, it became known as Avila, changing its title from college to university in 2002. Meanwhile, Rockhurst High School separated from the men’s college in 1964, moving to the Greenlease Campus near 93rd and State Line Road. Though both high schools remained gender-specific, Rockhurst College became co-educational the same year as Avila and switched to university status in 1999. The four educational institutions remain close to one another.  Read the Full Post.