Josephinum Academy making plans to stay in Wicker Park

Josephinum Academy of the Sacred Heart, a 134-year-old high school for girls, is hoping to take control of its future with an agreement to buy the property on which its facilities stand and launching a capital campaign with a goal of $23 million.

The agreement to form a separate non-profit to buy the Wicker Park property and lease it back to the school for a nominal fee came months before the school’s previous lease, from its founding congregation, the Sisters of Christian Charity, expires, said Josephinum’s president, Rich McMenamin.

The Sisters of Christian Charity founded the school in 1890; 95 years later, the community ceded control of the institution while leasing the property to the then-independent school at what McMenamin called a “very advantageous” rate, for which, he said, the school is extremely grateful.

Josephinum, at 1501 N. Oakley Blvd., became part of the network of Sacred Heart Schools in 2011.

Three years ago, the Sisters of Christian Charity informed the school that they did not intend to renew the lease in 2025, and two years ago, they notified the school that they intended to sell the property.

“This means a huge number of things for us,” McMenamin said. “We control our destiny if we control the real estate. We didn’t have an alternative place to move to. We are extending our mission well into the future. … It secures our future right here in Wicker Park.”

That should help support enrollment, with the announcement coming before students register for classes next year, he said.

The school will also extend its THRIVE scholarship, which provides full tuition to incoming freshmen, to the class entering high school this fall. The scholarship was announced in early 2024, and helped increase the size of the incoming freshman class this year by about 50 percent, from 20 students in the fall of 2022 and 2023 to 31 students this year.

It hopes to enroll 40-45 students in its next freshman class.

Josephinum’s enrollment includes students from 45 ZIP codes from all over Chicago and surrounding suburbs, with the vast majority being students of color and coming from low-income families, McMenamin said.

It was particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, as it became more challenging for students to use public transit to get to school and some had to stay home to supervise younger siblings whose schools were closed, he said.

Now, with the question of its site settled, a plan to raise enough money to start its first ever endowment and an extension of the THRIVE scholarship, Josephinum is poised to continue to grow, he said.

Doing so will preserve the availability of all-girls secondary education close to the heart of the city.

“This offers the chance for the girls to develop a higher degree of confidence,” he said. “They get to focus on their studies, they get to focus on themselves, they get to find their voice.”