Kim Johnson named president of Sacred Heart Academy, last all-girls Catholic high school on Long Island

Kim Johnson is on a mission to keep the last remaining all-girls Catholic high school on Long Island alive.

The newly named president of Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead thinks she can do it, even though another all-girls Catholic high school in Syosset shut down as recently as June 2024.

“There is still relevancy in single-sex education,” said Johnson, 50. “It’s relevant more now, I believe, than maybe ever.”

The Rockville Centre resident is bringing more than a quarter-century of experience in the corporate world to the school, where she will handle issues such as fundraising, student enrollment and alumnae relations. As a graduate of Sacred Heart herself, she knows the institution first-hand. And her daughter is a current student there.

For the first time in the school’s 75-year history, a layperson will hold the post of both president and principal. The latter position is held by Maria Hecht, who handles the day-to-day operations of the school. Their elevation is a sign of another reality — declining numbers of religious sisters who used to staff Catholic schools.

Sacred Heart was founded by and is run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood. Another all-girls high school they ran on their main campus in Brentwood closed in 2009, after 153 years in operation, because of declining enrollment.

Johnson said student enrollment at Sacred Heart is strong and the school is expanding its reach. It now has students commuting from as far as the Hamptons. It also runs a private bus to the Rockaways in Queens each day, where she said more than 40 students make the daily commute.

Sacred Heart also has a loyal alumnae base of 14,000 graduates, Johnson said. That has helped with fundraising — one alumna gave a $1 million gift during a capital campaign last year marking the school’s 75th anniversary, she said.

But survival can be precarious, especially on an island that boasts some of the top public schools in the state. As recently as 2018, Our Lady of Mercy Academy in Syosset had 400 students and what school leaders claimed was a bright future. It then closed last year amid a sharp drop in enrollment.

Johnson is confident that won’t happen at Sacred Heart.

“The school continues to thrive,” she said. “We continue to provide what I believe to be one of the best educations for high school girls on Long Island.”

Their key to success, she believes, is academic rigor, imparting the Catholic faith, retaining a top teaching staff and giving girls leadership positions they might not get in a co-ed school.

The girls “don't have distractions,” Johnson said. “They're very, very focused on what they're doing at Sacred Heart Academy.”

Committed commute

Song-a Shaughnessy said her two daughters, an incoming senior and a junior, attend the school even though they live in Bridgehampton and commute four hours each day, mainly by train. They catch a 6:18 a.m. train and get home as late as 8 or 9 p.m.

They were attracted by the school’s environment, strong academics and faith-based approach, Shaughnessy said. Plus, their home school district is small.

“It’s a huge commitment for them but they do it because they really believe that the education and the mental and emotional health of them is the best fit for them,” she said.

Long Island is home to one all-boys Catholic high school, Chaminade in Mineola. Its current enrollment is more than 1,700 and there is a waiting list to get in, said Brother Thomas Cleary, the school’s president.

He thinks Johnson will do a strong job at Sacred Heart.

Johnson is “a very competent, dynamic leader” who is “truly dedicated to the mission of Sacred Heart,” Cleary said.

'Future-forward model'

Sacred Heart’s graduating class in June was 178 students, which is lower than its record 201 in 2024 but still a strong figure, Johnson said. All 178 graduates went on to college, including some to top institutions such as Cornell, West Point, Duke, the University of Virginia, UCLA, the University of Southern California and Boston College. They received more than $50 million in scholarships, Johnson said.

Tuition at Sacred Heart is $16,000 a year, comparable to other Catholic high schools on Long Island.

Girls do not have to be Catholic to attend Sacred Heart, but most are, Johnson said.

She spent nearly three decades working in communications, marketing and other areas for corporations. Most recently she was global chief executive of Ogilvy Health, a major international advertising and communications company.

At Sacred Heart, Johnson is replacing Kristin Lynch Graham, who in 2016 took over as the first layperson to serve as president.

Though some all-girls schools are closing, Johnson is optimistic about their future, especially as women assume greater leadership roles in the world.

“I don't think it's an outmoded model,” she said. “I think our model is a future-forward model, actually.”