Academics

Academics at MSM

Welcome

Mount St. Mary Academy’s academic programs have been designed to effectively achieve the expectations of higher education and our students’ future employers.

  • Mount St. Mary Academy follows New York State Common Core Curriculum in all coursework, but with emphasis on enhancing the depth and breadth of study through interdisciplinary efforts and comprehensive assessments.  
  • New York State Regents exams were thoughtfully eliminated during the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 school years as our final assessment tool, replaced by robust, creative assessments.
  • Our students demonstrate mastery by producing capstone projects, written reports, group presentations, research papers, and other assessments that synthesize learning. 
  • Student learning is also measured through traditional paper and pen exams, created by our faculty who seek to create meaningful and accurate assessment. National standardized tests, i.e, PSAT, SAT, ACT, and AP exams, will continue to serve as academic benchmarks.

Small class sizes, individual attention, and a sense of family are just some of the reasons our students and their families have chosen Mount St. Mary. We blend time-honored traditions with state-of-the-art learning facilities and a student/faculty ratio of less than 10:1 – all within a developmentally safe and supportive environment. At Mount St. Mary, our students are known. Our faculty and staff work closely with our students and their families to nurture students emotionally, academically, and spiritually. We prepare them to seek solutions to life’s problems in the light of Christ’s teachings. 

Incorporated into our student’s schedule are opportunities to enhance their sense of well-being. A focus on mental, physical, spiritual and social wellness in secondary school has a positive impact on students’ ability for advocating for themselves and nurturing healthy relationships.

There are limitless opportunities available to our students – whether they choose to challenge themselves with Advanced Placement or college-credit coursework, learn to play a musical instrument, try a new sport, lead a club or activity, write and direct the spring drama, or start an award-winning small business. 

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  • Academic Centers

    Learning at Mount St. Mary is active and interdisciplinary. Students enjoy three academic centers – STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math), Humanities (Social Studies, Wellness  and Religion) and Languages (English and World Languages). In these centers, students interact with faculty and each other in a way to foster robust, cross-curricular collaboration. Our Makerspace provides opportunities for interactive learning that blends technology and creativity.

    Students who need academic support thrive in our Academic Learning Center, which offers peer and adult tutoring in all subject areas, support for students with testing and instructional accommodations, and a quiet, structured place to do schoolwork. 

  • For Honors Students

    Academically gifted students have many opportunities at Mount St. Mary through the award-winning Academy Scholars program. Advanced Placement, dual-enrollment and/or honors-level coursework is available in all subject areas. 

    In addition, Academy Scholars participate in a hands-on entrepreneurship curriculum through which they create and run their own small businesses, allowing them to learn and engage in creativity in an exciting way. Mount St. Mary is affiliated with two international entrepreneurship programs: Virtual Enterprises International and Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship. Our entrepreneurs have competed successfully both nationally and on the world stage, winning awards at both levels.

Service & Justice Days

Mount St. Mary Academy offers a Service and Justice Days experience annually. This project offers the entire school community hands-on opportunities to experience deep learning concerning real-world problems. The experiences were chosen to allow students to put their education to use, focusing on different aspects of social justice, approached through different disciplines.

Service and Justice Days are at the heart of the school’s Catholic identity: we embrace social justice where we live out our call as Christian disciples. It emphasizes the life and dignity of each human person, care for God’s creation, a call to community and participation, and specific attention on the poor and vulnerable.

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  • Service & Justice Days Workshops

    • Building Benches – This workshop looks to address the issue of “community seating deserts” that exist in poorer parts of our community.
    • Cards for Humanity – Students create a Cards Against Humanity-style game: STEAM edition to give women and minority professionals the acknowledgement they deserve.
    • Climate Change – How can we change our thoughts and actions to protect our Earth for years to come?
    • Honoring and Preserving the Gifts of our Environment – Consider our connection to the Earth and our responsibility to care for our planet.
    • Feeding Hunger – This action-based workshop immerses individuals in the issues of food insecurity in our own community.
    • Equity and Access to Educational Technology – Many students who live in poverty do not have adequate access to educational technology. How do we address this injustice?
    • By the Bootstraps – Learn about the way the economy, privilege, and education affect one another and how pursuing higher education may or may not be a one-size-fits-all solution to poverty.
    • Expanding the Boundaries – Students explore the effects of recent injustices relating to geographic poverty in our Buffalo community since the 1950s.
    • Protest Music in the Face of a Pandemic – Look at how music created during a challenging time, like a pandemic, can shape the progress of a movement and help move social justice forward.
    • I See Me! – Investigate the importance of diversity in written works, especially as children are first learning about, growing in, and interacting with the great big world.
    • School to Prison Pipeline – In this experience, students learn about the history of education, the creation of this “pipeline,” and how it has become part of our society today.
    • The Immigrant and Refugee Experience in WNY – Learn about the lives of refugees, the process they must go through, and systemic problems from those who have experienced it firsthand, as well as those who set immigration policies.
    • Social Justice Through the Arts – Past and present artists and everyday people use the arts to communicate about social justice issues.
    • Women in Sports – Learn about the history of disparities between men and women in athletics as well as what we as high schoolers can do to change the future of women in sports.
    • Women: Inequity in Education and Leadership – Learn about the obstacles women face as they attempt to pursue leadership roles and/or roles in traditionally male-dominated fields.

Graduation Requirements

MSM Graduation Requirements 

  • English: 4 credits 
  • Social Studies: 4 credits 
  • Math: 4 credits 
  • Science: 3 credits 
  • World Languages: 3 credits
  • Additional World Language or Science: 1 credit 
  • Religion: 2 credits
  • Art/Music: 1 credits
  • Health: .5 credits
  • Phys. Ed.: 2 credits
  • Electives: 3.5 credits 

Total Credits = 28 credits

Mount St. Mary Academy

3756 Delaware Ave.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 877-1358
Mount St. Mary Academy, founded by the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur, is a Catholic, private, college preparatory school for young women. Within a nurturing and academically challenging and inclusive environment, the Academy strives to develop the whole person’s gifts and potential. Guided by our Catholic tradition, and rooted in Gospel values, we empower scholars to be leaders dedicated to lifelong learning, moral integrity, social justice, and service to and inclusion of others.