Aquinas High School was a 9-12 all-girls,

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in the Belmont section of

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York, United States. It was located within the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York City and the count ...

. The building now houses Cardinal Mccloskey Community Charter Elementary School.

Background

In the late nineteenth century the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill purchased the Frederick Grote estate, which consisted of an entire city block from East 182 Street to East 183 Street. Frederick Grote was a partner in the firm "F. Grote & Co.", manufacturers of ivory goods. The business was located on 14th Street in Manhattan. Mr. Grote died October 22, 1886.''The American Stationer'', Vol. 23, Howard Lockwood, 1888, p. 252
/ref> In 1900, a day school was established in the three-story frame servants' house for children of the Parish of St. Martin of Tours. It was called St. Martin's Academy and only served grades 1–6. As enrollment increased, the academy was moved to the brick Victorian Grote mansion. When the parish decided to establish a parochial school, in 1923, the sisters converted the academy into "Aquinas Hall", a two-year business school for young women. A second building was added in 1929. In the mid-1930s, it was determined that the students would be better served by a four year high school curriculum. A 4-year high school was established in 1939. On September 11, 2002, First Lady Laura Bush visited Aquinas High School. In June 2020, the school announced that it would close following the 2020–2021 school year due to declining enrollment. While originally designed for 800 students, there were only 200 at the time the closing was announced. On June 10, 2021, Aquinas graduated its final class. The building is now home to Cardinal Mccloskey Community Charter School. It is an elementary school, serving members of the community

Notable alumni

April Lee Hernández April Lee Hernandez (born January 31, 1980) is an American film and television actress. She has also been credited as April L. Hernandez and April Hernandez-Castillo. Career Aside from performing stand-up comedy, she has also appeared in se ...

, actress *

Debbi Morgan Deborah Ann "Debbi" Morgan is an American film and television actress. Morgan has appeared in a number of film and TV productions, and may be best known for the role of Angie Baxter–Hubbard on the ABC soap opera ''All My Children''. Morgan ...

, actress * Julissa Reynoso, former United States Ambassador to Uruguay *

Judy Torres Judith "Judy" Torres (born June 13, 1968 in The Bronx, New York City) is an American freestyle music artist and dance-pop singer. Early life and career Growing up in the Bronx, Torres was the oldest of five siblings. She attended St. Thomas Aq ...

, freestyle music artist and dance-pop singer *

Patricia Banks Edmiston Patricia Noisette Banks Edmiston (born April 27, 1937) is an American who was one of the first African Americans, Black flight attendant, flight attendants. She combated Discrimination in the United States, discriminatory practices in the United ...

, one of the first Black flight attendants in the United States

References

External links

* {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1923 Girls' schools in New York City 1923 establishments in New York City Dominican schools in the United States Belmont, Bronx Roman Catholic high schools in the Bronx