St. Teresa's Academy is the oldest school, women's and Catholic institution in Kansas City. The school was founded and is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet who, since their founding in the 17th century in France, have been in the forefront of preparing young women for the future.

Beginning in 1866 at 12th and Washington in Kansas City's Quality Hill area, the Academy rapidly grew in enrollment and prestige. A roster of the school's alumnae includes young ladies from many of the most prominent founding families of the city.

In 1909 the Sisters relocated St. Teresa's to a twenty-acre site at 5600 Main. They named the campus "Windmoor" because of the constant wind blowing across the open prairie.

On the cornerstone of the first of what would become three elegant campus buildings the Sisters inscribed the words of St. Teresa of Avila and the motto of the Academy, "Deo Adjuvante Non Timendum"... "With the help of God, we need not fear."

In 1941 the Sisters added a second building, Donnelly Hall, which housed the city's first and only college for women. In 1962 the college moved to the south part of Kansas City and became Avila College. In 1982 a state of the art gymnasium, the Goppert Center, was completed for the school's progressive women's athletic program.

Already spanning its third century in operation, the Academy's identity with the Sisters of St. Joseph has given it a special esprit and elan as the center of women's education in Kansas City. From its pioneer beginnings until today St. Teresa's has been faithful to an overriding vision and values that make it unique among local, private educational institutions.