Lacordaire Academy

Lacordaire Academy is a Catholic college preparatory school with a coeducational prekindergarten to eighth grade and an all girls ninth through twelfth grade student body. The Academy was established by the Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell, New Jersey. The school is located in the Upper Montclair section of Montclair, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

Lacordaire Academy
Front Building of the Lacordaire Academy
Address
155 Lorraine Avenue Montclair , (Essex County) , New Jersey 07043 United States
Coordinates	40°50′30″N 74°12′5″W
Information
Type	Private, Co-ed
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic, Sisters of St. Dominic
Established	1920
NCES School ID	00863533[1]
Head of school	Megan Mannato[2]
Faculty	32.3 FTEs[1]
Grades	PreK-12
Enrollment	265 (plus 15 in PreK, as of 2021–22)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	8.2:1[1]
Color(s)	Black and   Red[3]
Team name	Lions[3] Mascot Rory The Lion
Accreditation	Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools[4]
Publication	Zephyr (literary magazine)[5]
Newspaper	Laco Nation
Yearbook	Veritas
Tuition	$18,900 (grades 9-12 for 2024-25)[6]
Website	www.lacordaire.net

Lacordaire Academy has been accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education and by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1951 and is accredited through January 2025.^[4] The school is a member of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools^[7] and is located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.^[8]

As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 265 students (plus 15 in PreK) and 32.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 8.2:1. The school's student body was 35.1% (93) White, 23.4% (62) Black, 15.8% (42) two or more races, 13.6% (32) Hispanic and 12.1% (32) Asian.^[1]

The school was founded in 1920, and named for Pere Henri Lacordaire, a Dominican priest who lived in post-revolution Paris.^[9]

Activities

Lacordaire Academy provides many clubs and organizations that students can join based on their own interests and availability. At Lacordaire, a student can create any club that she desires as long as they find a moderator and people to join.

Leadership

• Dominican Preachers
• National Honor Society
• Student Ambassadors
• Student Council

Athletics

The Lacordaire Lions compete in interscholastic sports under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association^[3] competing on an independent basis.^[10]

Sports offered include:^[3]

• Tennis
• Volleyball
• Soccer
• Basketball
• Softball

A runner from the school was the Non-Public B individual champion in 2002.^[11]

Literary

• The Checkerboard (Newspaper)
• Veritas (Yearbook)
• Zephyr (Literary Magazine)
• Laco Ledger (Middle School)

Clubs

• Culture Club
• Mission Club
• Environmental Club
• Mock Trial
• Forensics
• Lego Club
• Preachers Club
• Peer Tutoring
• Checkerboard Club
• Choir and Instrumental Club
• Science Mentors
• Poetry Out Loud
• Sports Club
• Yearbook Club
• Medical Sciences Club
• Cooking Club
• Book Club
• Laco Voices

Graduation requirements

All Upper School students follow a college preparatory program. All requirements must be fulfilled or substituted with a course of equal value.
Required:

• 6 full-year electives
• 4 years Religious Studies
• 4 years English
• 4 years Comprehensive Health/Physical Education
• 3 years Mathematics
• 3 years Foreign Language
• 4 years Science
• 2 years United States History
• 1 year World History
• 1 year Fine Arts
• 1 year Computer Science
• 1 semester Project Justice Internship

Notable alumni

• Elizabeth McAlister (born 1939), peace activist and former nun of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary.^[12]