Our Sacred Heart Mission and History

"For the sake of one child, I would have founded the Society."

St. Madeleine Sophie Barat

Since 1800, when St. Madeleine Sophie Barat founded the Society of the Sacred Heart in France, Religious of the Society of the Sacred Heart and lay Sacred Heart educators have carried out her vision of educational excellence. Today, the Network of Sacred Heart schools is an association of 25 Catholic schools across the United States and Canada, and nearly 160 schools internationally.

Independent yet united spirit and purpose, the international community of Sacred Heart schools believes in educating the whole child, and preparing her to live fully and wisely.

At the core of Sacred Heart education are the Goals and Criteria. These principles are tied into Carrollton's culture and identity, expressing the intentions and hopes of our over 200-year Sacred Heart traditions. They form the moral compass that influence the choices made within our community, instilling in our students to draw upon these values during their schools days, and ultimately guiding our Carrollton graduates to become women of conviction, courage, and confidence.

Goals and Criteria

Goal I

Schools of the Sacred Heart commit themselves to educate to a personal and active faith in God.

The school identifies itself to the wider community as a Catholic-independent-Sacred Heart School and embodies the mission of the Society of the Sacred Heart.
The school forms its student and adult members in attitudes of the heart of Jesus, such as gratitude, generosity, compassion, and forgiveness.
The school community reflects an ethos of joy, hope, and celebration and its programs assert that there is meaning and value in life.
The school community welcomes and respects persons of all faiths and educates to an understanding of the religions and spiritual traditions of the world.
School leadership prioritizes space and time for silence and contemplation for its members to deepen their interior life.
Members of the school community, open to the transforming power of the Spirit of God, engage in personal and communal prayer, discernment, and reflection which inform their actions.
The school community, rooted in the love of Jesus Christ, nurtures the spiritual lives of its members through the exploration of one's relationship to God, to self, to others, and to creation.

Goal II

Schools of the Sacred Heart commit themselves to educate to a deep respect for intellectual values.

Sacred Heart educators and students engage in challenging experiences that inspire intellectual curiosity, a global mindset, and a life-long love of learning.
Sacred Heart educators develop and implement a dynamic curriculum, effective instructional methodology, current educational research, and ongoing evaluation.
Sacred Heart educators and students utilize a variety of teaching and learning strategies to support their growth and development.
The school's curricular and co-curricular programs integrate innovation and collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving, the exploration of emerging technologies, and critical evaluation of information.
The school utilizes space and the physical environment in alignment with best pedagogical practices.
The school cultivates aesthetic values and the creative use of the imagination.
Sacred Heart educators assume responsibility for their professional growth, supported by resources and a culture that promotes life-long learning.

Goal III

Schools of the Sacred Heart commit themselves to educate to a social awareness which impels to action.

Sacred Heart educators prepare students to serve the common good in an interdependent world.
Sacred Heart educators immerse students in diverse global perspectives, developing competencies such as critical consciousness, language facility, and cultural literacy.
The school, drawing from Catholic Social Teaching, educates students to analyze and work to eradicate social structures, practices, systems, and values that perpetuate racism and other injustices.
All members of the school community accept accountability for the care of God's creation, practice effective stewardship of the Earth's resources, and work to alleviate the climate crisis.
School programs promote informed active citizenship and civic responsibility on the local, national, and global level.
The school community engages in direct service, advocacy, outreach, and partnerships to work for justice, peace, and the integrity of creation.
Sacred Heart educators work to develop in the students a life-long commitment to service.

Goal IV

Schools of the Sacred Heart commit themselves to educate to the building of community as a Christian value.

The school, affirming that all are created in the image and likeness of God, promotes the inherent dignity of the human person and strives for relationships characterized by inclusion and mutual respect.
The school implements an ongoing plan for educating all members of the community to the charism, mission and heritage of the Society of the Sacred Heart.
The school engages with the Network of Sacred Heart Schools in the United States and Canada and Sacred Heart schools around the world.
All members of the school community support a clean, healthy, and safe environment.
Members of the school community practice and teach with a spirit of peace and reconciliation the principles of non-violence and conflict management.
School leadership demonstrates a conscious effort to recruit students and employ faculty and staff of diverse races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
School leadership allocates financial resources to support socio-economic diversity both in the admissions process and in the daily life of students.

Goal V

Schools of the Sacred Heart commit themselves to educate to personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom.

Student and adult members of the school community grow in courage and confidence as they discover new abilities, cultivate strengths, learn from mistakes, develop empathy and exercise resilience in meeting challenges.
All members of the school community take personal responsibility for health and balance in their lives supported by a school culture that promotes spiritual, intellectual, physical, and social-emotional well-being.
Members of the school community model and teach respectful dialogue in support of clear, direct, open communication.
All members of the school community endeavor to practice informed, ethical decision-making and accountability.
Student and adult members of the school community model, practice, and teach safe, ethical, and responsible use of technology.
Sacred Heart educators cultivate in the students' life skills, such as initiative, creativity, and agility.
Sacred Heart schools recognize and educate to motivational, inspirational, and transformational leadership.

Schools of the Sacred Heart share in the educational mission of the Society of the Sacred Heart as articulated in the Goals and Criteria. The structure supporting Sacred Heart education in the United States and Canada includes the Conference of Sacred Heart Education and the Network of Sacred Heart Schools. Together they provide services and programs to ensure vitality of mission for the member schools sponsored by the Society of the Sacred Heart.

Links to the Network of Sacred Heart Schools:
- Network of the Sacred Heart Schools

- Religious of the Sacred Heart

- Religious of the Sacred Heart (International)