Marywood History
In 1900, Sacred Heart Academy was a boarding and day school for girls on Fountain Street in downtown Grand Rapids.

“In 1912, the congregation purchased property from the Collins family to expand Sacred Heart Academy (located on East Fulton Street and nestled in an area of land just east of Grand Rapids). The academy was moved to that location and by 1925 was called Marywood Academy” (p.60).^[1]  

The school quickly acquired a reputation for a high quality college-preparatory education.

Marywood began to include Montessori principles in its kindergarten program in 1966, making it the first school in the area to employ this approach to teaching young children. A Montessori pre-school opened in 1969.

Marywood became co-educational in 1971 and added Montessori grades 1-3 in 1974 and Montessori grades 4-6 in 1981. Grades one through eight became coeducational ten years later at Marywood. The High School was closed in 1975; in 1989, after nearly ninety years of existence, the entire Academy was closed.

 Marywood Alumni