The McNicholas Milestone

McNicholas High School, founded in January 1951 by the Sisters of St. Joseph, is celebrating 75 years of co-ed education.  

According to the McNicholas website, McNicholas High School began with the Sisters of St. Joseph, a Catholic order founded in France in 1650. The sisters moved to the United States in the 1800s and settled in Cincinnati in 1893, where they opened a boarding house and later bought land in Mt. Washington. In 1915, they started St. Joseph Academy for young women.

Director of Mission & Ministry, teacher Mr. Jeff Hutchinson-Smyth shared, “The sisters have always had a commitment to unity and oneness,” and Principal Paul Romolo concurred. “The sisters were deeply committed to meeting people where they were and giving them what they needed,” he said.

In 1949, Sister Mary Agnes asked church leaders to allow St. Joseph Academy to have both boys and girls. The request was approved, and in 1951, the school was renamed McNicholas High School to honor Archbishop John T. McNicholas, who served the Cincinnati Archdiocese from 1925 until his death in 1950. “Archbishop McNicholas was a man who thought that education was an important gift, in that everyone deserved it,” Romolo shared.

Theology teacher Mrs. Mary Beth Sandmann explained, “Leadership is not leadership in a way that seeks recognition; leadership is a kind of way that leads others to do the right thing. I think that leadership is very prevalent in our school when people stand up for what is right and just in our world… That was a very strong component that the sisters carried on too, is that education is for all people.”

In the 1960s and 1970s, McNicholas High School improved its academics and facilities, and in 1997, the Sisters of St. Joseph transferred ownership of McNicholas High School to the Archdiocese. The former convent was turned into art studios, classrooms, and offices.

“[Students are]not just about their academic subjects, but about who they are in this world where their gifts are, where their talents are, where their light can shine,” Sandmann added.

“Our students are more than just like a sponge soaking up information. We’re really trying to take the things we’re learning. That’s discerning the will of the Holy Spirit in our lives and where God is calling us to,” Hutchinson-Smyth said.

“There is an important spirit both from John Timothy McNicholas, and from the St. Joseph, that even though, their legacy continues to live through their spirit,” he added.