History

Holy Angels Academy opened September 15, 1892, at what is now 12th and Kilbourn. Operated by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVMs), the new school welcomed 20 girls and boys in grades 1-10 on its first day. Within a year it became an all-girls school and by 1922 focused on grades 9-12 only.  

The first graduates to complete four years of high school at Holy Angels were Katherine Reilly, Alice Meehan and Mary Forrestal (top row), and Adelaide Ott and Mary Carpenter (bottom row). Their class motto: “Don’t just dream great deeds. Make them happen!” 

Holy Angels tripled in size after opening this new building at 12th and Kilbourn. The distinctive, neo-Gothic structure served as Holy Angels’ much beloved home until the school’s closing in 1970. 

Sister Mary Immaculate Reilly, principal, introduced co-curricular activities to give girls opportunities to lead. Students immediately excelled in theatre, choir (the Angelaires is DSHA’s oldest student group), forensics, a student newspaper, sports and more. The orchestra (shown) broadcast live weekly on WTMJ radio.

Holy Angels' first father-daughter dance was organized by the Mother’s Guild. Divine Savior inaugurated father-daughter dances in 1949. Dashers have danced with dads every year since.

“Uncle Sam’s nieces at Holy Angels will not sit idly on the sidelines,” promised a student editorial at the outbreak of World War II. Students sent more than 10,000 books to overseas soldiers and were credited with financing the purchases of two jeeps, a tank and an Army flight trainer through war bond sales.

Sister Mary Evangela led Holy Angels’ juniors and seniors on the first week-long jaunt to New York and Washington D.C. The trips became a tradition, combining history and sightseeing for up to 100 students annually. This group posed atop the Rockefeller Center in 1956. The tradition of travel-based learning continues today with annual trips to France, Ecuador, Ireland, and more.

Divine Savior moved into its new home before construction was finished, but the dust and mayhem did not deter enrollment. From an initial enrollment of 186, Divine Savior rose to 567 students in just five years, becoming the Archdiocese’s fastest growing high school.

Divine Savior expanded course offerings in science and math after moving to its new building. During the fifties Divine Savior and Holy Angels led area Catholic high schools in the number of science and mathematics courses offered. Today DSHA offers more than 30 courses focused on science and mathematics, including courses in engineering, computer programming and six Advanced Placement courses in science and mathematics topics.

During the fifties, up to 11,000 students from Archdiocesan high schools gathered annually for the three -day “SUMA” conference —the Sodality Union of the Milwaukee Archdiocese. Most Holy Angels and Divine Savior students were members of Sodality, a group committed to daily prayer, weekly spiritual discussions and regular community service.

Divine Savior students sold more than 10,000 entries to a jingle contest offering a new house at 100th and Grantosa as its main prize. Their efforts netted $50,000 for a new gym that opened in 1959.

Enrollments topped 600 at Holy Angels and 700 at Divine Savior, setting enrollment records at both schools. But the heyday of Catholic girls schools ended suddenly. By 1970 enrollment had dropped 45 percent at Holy Angels and 23 percent at Divine Savior.

Under the direction of Sister St. Genevieve (Eileen) Bergen, Holy Angels students produced throughout the sixties a string of great musicals such as Little Mary Sunshine, The King and I, Song of Norway, Oklahoma, and My Fair Lady (shown). The tradition continues today. DSHA productions have earned Wisconsin’s top musical theatre awards for six years running.

With enrollments falling and sisters departing, the late seventies and eighties challenged Catholic schools everywhere. About 60% of all Catholic girls' high schools closed during the era. With Holy Angels on the verge of closing, parents at Divine Savior and Holy Angels proposed an affiliation between the two schools. Combining the former rivals was difficult, but in the long run, it preserved a strong Catholic, college-prep high school option for girls in Milwaukee.

The adoption of a federal law known as “Title IX” required schools that offered competitive athletics programs for boys to provide them for girls, as well. The Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association quickly launched a volleyball tournament that became the first -ever statewide athletic tournament for girls. DSHA won. Dashers have won 39 state championships since.

In 1976 the Sisters of the Divine Savior chose Dr. Angela Pienkos, DS ’58, to serve as the school’s first chief administrator. During her twenty-one years (1976-1997), her efforts were directed at preserving and strengthening the school in challenging times. She led the academic transition from a school staffed largely by Sisters to one built on a strong foundation of lay faculty. Along with two capital campaigns, she began fund-raising activities such as bingo, the annual fund drive, and an annual auction to supplement tuition as the school’s main revenue source.

The first Dash-A-Thon was conceived as a way to welcome new students while raising money to support their education. Its steady success has brought nearly $2 million in contributions to DSHA.

The U.S. Department of Education and the American Council of Private Education recognized DSHA as one of America’s exemplary schools, the only Wisconsin school chosen that year for the honor.

The Sisters of the Divine Savior chose Ellen Bartel as DSHA’s first president. Charged with raising funds to strengthen and expand academic programs, she has overseen two building campaigns, carried out a long-term plan to lift salaries to market levels, and led scholarship fund drives that today benefit about one-third of DSHA’s students.

Theatre, music and art have enlivened Holy Angels and Divine Savior from their beginnings. These rich traditions got a strong boost from the $15 million “Vision DSHA” campaign. It made possible the Robert and Marie Hansen (HA, '43) Family Fine Arts Theatre, the Art Education Suite, and the “Quad,” a student gathering and dining space named in honor of its donor, Betty Quadracci, HA ’57.

DSHA’s Board of Directors launched the Diversity Task Force to ensure the school’s culture included girls from all backgrounds and enriched learning for everyone. Today 29% of DSHA’s students are young women of color.

After U.S. Catholic Bishops issued new guidelines for schools, DSHA faculty and campus ministry officials connected theology courses and service requirements in a holistic faith formation program for all students. Seniors devote two weeks to service and reflection through “Vocare,” the capstone of DSHA’s Salvatorian Service requirement.

State championships in rugby, basketball, volleyball and ice hockey. Recognition as an “exemplary” Catholic high school. Awards for student council leadership and independent scientific research projects by students. Top state honors in musical theater, forensics and robotics. The year brought a bumper crop of awards even for a school that expects its students to excel.

DSHA’s largest fund drive ever — Building on Our Faith —reached its $19.5 million goal by the end of 2016 and continued climbing. Students reaped the campaign’s rewards with facilities for a new holistic wellness program that blended new programming in fitness, academics, spirituality and social activities. The drive concluded in June 2017, $1 million over its original goal.

The dream remains the same: prepare talented young women to make the most of their abundant talents as believers, leaders, critical thinkers and communicators in tomorrow’s world. Today 14,000 alumnae fulfill these roles in careers and communities everywhere. Young women from every zip code in greater Milwaukee follow in their footsteps. For 125 years DSHA has been the school where all girls makes all the difference.