Our History

The Congregation’s first Florida mission began in Key West, where the Convent of Mary Immaculate opened in 1868. Kate Jackson, one of Tampa’s notable female philanthropists and civic leaders, had graduated from the Convent of Mary Immaculate in 1873. Out of admiration for the Sisters, she campaigned to have them start a school in Tampa. On July 16, 1881, two Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, Sisters Marie Augustine and Marie Maurice, departed from Key West to open a new school in Tampa.

In April 1889, the site of the school was moved to a two-story building at the corner of Franklin and Harrison Streets. In 1891, the late Bishop John Moore, the second Bishop of St. Augustine, purchased property on Twiggs Street, where a larger building that served the community for 34 years was built. By this time, enrollment had filled eight full grades and a complete high school.

In 1925 the school's name changed to the Academy of the Holy Names. Further growth necessitated larger accommodations, so the school was moved to temporary quarters on Central Avenue while the present building on Bayshore Boulevard was under construction. Bishop Barry of St. Augustine laid the cornerstone in 1928, and Florida's Governor-elect Carlton spoke at the ceremony. The following September saw the opening of the new school under the leadership of Mother Mary Ethelbert, but financial difficulties halted building progress before the structure was completed. However, with increasing enrollment, the growth of the school continued.

The building was completed, and by 1952 two new school wings were added, along with the Chapel and auditorium. A separate boys' division for grades 1 through 8—the Boys Academy—was established in 1962 with Sister Robert Marie as principal. In 1968, Sister Mary Glavin, SNJM was appointed as the first principal for the girls' lower division, and in 1970, a kindergarten was added. 

Throughout its first century, the Academy of the Holy Names also served as a home for student boarders, particularly young women from Cuba and Central America. In response to changing needs, boarding was discontinued in 1974.

Change and growth characterized the education institution in its second century, marked by a new leadership structure in 1985 in which Sister Elizabeth Crean served as the first president of the Academy of the Holy Names. Then, in 1989, the provincial of the New York Province of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary approved the recommendation that the Boys Academy and the elementary division of the Academy of the Holy Names be combined into one coeducational elementary school with the unification led by Sister Ann Regan. 

The high school remained the only all-girls college preparatory high school along Florida’s West Coast. Faithful to educating those from underprivileged means, the Academy's first Link Scholars, who were supported on full scholarship, began their freshman year in 2007.

The Academy of the Holy Names continually developed its facilities, programs, and services for students in light of the changing needs of the times. Construction for the Bailey Family Center for the Arts was completed in the spring of 2017 under the direction of President Arthur Raimo. The building was blessed and opened that April. Subsequently, the former arts and media center building was renovated into the Prince Family Middle School, designed with 21st-century instructional strategies in mind: glass-walled classroom entries, common spaces, and flexible seating.

Nearing 100 years in age, the Bayshore building underwent its renovation from May 2019 through August 2022, updating the entire electrical and plumbing infrastructure. Beginning with the top floors, walls were gutted and skylights restored to create classrooms and common spaces with ample natural light for student-driven and collaborative learning. In 2020, the high school science labs were remodeled, and an engineering room and maker lab were added to the instructional space. Lastly, the first-floor renovation of the lower division and clinic, along with updates to the Campus Ministry area were completed in the summer of 2022.

Academy of the Holy Names has been blessed with a legacy of religious and lay leaders, gifted teachers, and generous benefactors who believed in its mission and continued to bring it to new fruition. Celebrating this legacy, a Heritage Center opened in the fall of 2016, where the former ambulatory connected the Bayshore building to the Blessed Marie Rose Chapel.

This central welcoming space honors the history of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in images, word, and artifacts. It highlights their contributions to Catholic education in Florida and tells the Academy of the Holy Names' story. This rich history continues to inspire lay leaders who carry forth the mission and charism established by the Sisters of the Holy Names in today's education ministry.