Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart is still a Catholic high school sponsored by the Sinsinawa Dominican sisters as it has been since 1881. EHS still educates the whole student, for a life of learning, service and personal responsibility. The curriculum is rigorous, and embraces Truth, Justice, Compassion, Partnership and Community.

Edgewood was the first Madison area school recognized as a "School of Excellence" by the U.S. Department of Education, and in 2007(the only year a ranking has been done) was ranked the Madison metropolitan area's "Best High School" by Madison Magazine, based on statistical measures of learning environment and academic outcomes.

How Big Are Classes Now?
Course sections average 19 students per class, and each grade currently averages 160 students.

A Typical Day:
A student typically has 7 or 8 courses in a semester, allowing for 1 or 2 free mods per day. Free mods may be spent in a number of places such as study hall, guided study, the Library, the Writing Lab, the Learning Resource Center or the Commons (cafeteria). Lunch is served over three mods so all students can find time to eat. Edgewood is a closed campus; students stay on campus throughout the day unless they have permission to leave.

COURSE OFFERINGS:
Requirements:4 years of English & Religion; 3 years of Math, Science & Social Studies (the majority of our students take 4 of each of these); 2 ½ years of Physical Education; 1 year of Computer Literacy; ½ year of Public Speaking  

Electives: EHS requires 1-2 electives per semester. One credit must be in any of the Fine Arts. Foreign Languages are strongly encouraged. Other electives include: Aviation I and II; half a dozen computer program and management courses; Advanced Public Speaking; and 12-13 Advanced Placement courses in Science, Social Studies, Math, English and Foreign Languages.

Academic Assistance: 25% of students benefit from two programs that help with learning challenges or disabilities -- the Academic Success Program (ASP) and Learning Resource Center (LRC).

Advanced Placement: 1/3 of juniors and 1/2 of seniors take one or more of 12-13 AP courses. Over 3/4 of them (much higher at EHS than are state and national averages) pass the AP exam, qualifying them for possible college credit. Those who do not pass still get credit for taking a challenging course load.

CATHOLIC LIFE
In addition to Religious Studies courses, daily morning prayer, Masses and prayer services, Catholic life at EHS is lived out in many ways, including through service and retreat programs:

Service:
All students volunteer a minimum 100 hours of community service; about 2/3 of our students complete over double that by the end of their of senior year.

Retreats:
Every EHS student participates in an annual retreat.



CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES:
From Leadership Corps to Laughing Stock (Improv Acting) and Olympiad (Science) to Ultimate (Frisbee), 95% of EHS students participate in one or more sport or activity!

Part of the reason this is true? There are 27 sports and about 27-30 clubs to choose from, about one sport or activity for every dozen students!

OUTCOMES:
With virtually 100% of Edgewood students taking the ACT college admissions test, EHS consistently scores 2+ to 3 points over the state average and 3-4 points over the national averages.

Over 95% of EHS graduates go on to higher education, over 90% to a four-year college or university.

Colleges accepting EHS graduates over the last four years have included many Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Catholic colleges and universities as well as these top-ranked schools: Boston College, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western, Cornell, Harvard, MIT, Notre Dame, Princeton, Rutgers, Stanford, Vassar, Virginia, Washington U in St. Louis and Yale.