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The Sisters of Our Lady of Mount Carmel are continuing a commitment to quality education made in Tours, France in 1825. Nearly 10 years later, during a time of religious persecution in France, the Sisters immigrated to New Orleans.
In 1840, the Sisters of Mount Carmel opened Mount Carmel Academy on Governor Nicholls Street at the site of the present-day St. Augustine Church. In the mid-1920s, the development of Lakeview was underway on land reclaimed from Lake Pontchartrain. Mother Clare Coady, Superior General, predicted the need for a school to educate young women whose families would move to this new area. In 1926, the Sisters built a four-story building to serve as a residence and school. The Motherhouse is still used by the Sisters today.
Under Sister Mary Angela Duplantis, enrollment grew from 16 students in grades 9-12 in 1926 to 161 during the 1954-55 school year. Because of the increase in enrollment, Mount Carmel added a new building to its campus, which, at the time, only included the Motherhouse. This new building houses two classrooms, a cafeteria, gym and stage.
In 1955, Sister Mary Grace Danos succeeded Sister Mary Angela as principal. Mount Carmel added a three-story building, the Performing Arts Center (PAC) and the Instructional Materials Center (IMC). The latter houses audio-visual materials, a recording studio, counseling offices, a faculty room, individual study carrels, tables for group study and a computer science lab. One the second floor of the IMC is the library. Before the end of her tenure, Sister Mary Angela had begun construction of the Fine Arts Building.
In 1980, Sister Camille Anne Campbell took over as principal. Enrollment climbed to 1,040, and a new classroom building was necessary. In addition to classrooms, this building houses technology labs and the chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In 2002, Mount Carmel added an eighth grade to its curriculum. Since then, MCA has also built another three-story classroom building and the state-of-the-art Assembly Center.
In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded each building with 10 feet of water. Sister Camille Anne, president/principal, and Beth Ann Simno, vice-president, headed restoration and rebuilding efforts. The school re-opened on Jan. 17, 2006.
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