Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school located in Madison, Wisconsin. Edgewood has been sponsored since its inception by the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. In the 2019–2020 school year, it enrolled 476 students. Also on the Edgewood campus are Edgewood College and Edgewood Campus School, an elementary and middle school.
History
Edgewood was founded in 1871 on West Washington Avenue in Madison by the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa as Saint Regina Academy, a boarding school for girls, and a day school for boys and girls. In 1881, Governor Cadwallader Washburn donated his official residence on Lake Wingra, "Edgewood Villa," after losing a bid for re-election. Saint Regina Academy continued to operate until a fire in 1893 destroyed the original building and a new building under construction. Less than a year after the fire, the school/convent was rebuilt and re-opened as Sacred Heart Academy. In 1927, the current high school's original building was completed according to the design of Philadelphia architect Albert Kelsey, son-in-law of Governor Cadwallader Washburn, under the name Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart. An additional wing was completed in 1937 and a second addition with new classrooms, gymnasium, swimming pool and Commons was completed in 1967. In the 1990s the school added another gym (the Krantz Center) and shared in the construction of the Sonderegger Science Center, which is used cooperatively by the three Edgewood schools on the campus.
Academics
The Edgewood curriculum encompasses 132 credit-eligible courses across twelve departments. The school also teaches 12 AP (Advanced Placement) courses, including English, Calculus, 2nd Year Calculus Honors, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Environmental Science, European History, U.S. History, Spanish, French & Latin. The school's student literary magazine, musical productions, remote environmental science field course and Latin oratory are all award-winning programs. About 1/3 of juniors and 1/2 of seniors take at least one AP course. Edgewood also has programs for students with minor learning disabilities and challenges, which serve about 1/4 of its students.
Graduation requirements, including four credits of English, and three credits each of Math, Science and Social Studies, help ensure students have a college preparatory background. Edgewood also has Public Speaking as a required course in addition to requirements in Religious Studies, Physical Education, Fine Arts and Computer Literacy, and offers Aviation as a unique elective. More than 95% of Edgewood's graduates go on to college, including having applied to and received acceptance to 85 of the Top 100.
Besides having strong curricular offerings, Edgewood also provides students options for expanding their academic pursuits. A robotics team, math team, Science Olympiad, National Honor Society, environmental club, honor societies for Spanish and Latin students, book club, strategy games club, political/current events club, multicultural club and other groups organize activities, trips and competitive opportunities. Key Club, STAR (Sisters Taking Active Roles), Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Class/Executive Council, Dominican Preaching Team, LINK Crew and Leadership Corps all provide opportunities to learn skills, exercise leadership and engage in personal growth activities.
Fine arts
The annual Fine Arts Festival brings professional guest artists, performers, and musicians to the school, offers a student talent showcase, includes a student/faculty hosted film festival with commentary, and exhibits a juried selection of two- and three-dimensional art.
The Drama Department stages two productions per year, involving more than 100 students in each, either on stage or on technical crews. Since the inception of the Overture Center for the Arts Tommy Awards in 2009–2010, Edgewood High School musicals have earned "Outstanding Musical" honors for Anything Goes (2010), Hairspray (2011), West Side Story (2012), Guys and Dolls (2013) and Mary Poppins (2015).
Extra-curriculars include an improv comedy troupe, Laughing Stock, and one-act play competitions. Edgewood participates in the Young Playwrights program as part of a course in which students write their own one-act plays, which are entered into competition against other participating schools.