History of Sacred Heart-Griffin
In the fall of 1988, Sacred Heart Academy and Griffin High School combined their spiritual, academic, and financial resources to form a new Catholic, Dominican high school. The newly formed institution, Sacred Heart-Griffin High School (SHG), continued the common threads of the two schools. Strong traditions of excellence in education and moral development provided the foundation for SHG’s mission statement, Academic Excellence in a Community of Faith.
As neither campus could individually accommodate the needs of the combined student body, SHG used the facilities of both schools. The concept of educating all of its students on the same campus brought its own challenge – the need to construct fifteen classrooms to educate its students in one building. Sacred Heart-Griffin opened its 1995-96 school year with a new classroom addition and a new chapel, the cornerstone of spiritual life. In 2000, SHG reorganized its administrative structure to that of the president/principal model.
In 2005, the Springfield Dominican Sisters, sponsors of SHG, made a public commitment to dismantling systemic racism in their institutions, including SHG. Teachers at SHG are trained to be anti-racist and manage classrooms that actively promote social justice and foster understanding of all global cultures.
Students are taught to live their faith by understanding and fighting against social oppression in all its forms. These many changes in the history of Sacred Heart-Griffin High School over the years have not changed the core mission, Academic Excellence in a Community of Faith.
Today the enrollment stands at approximately 500 young men and women. SHG is committed to developing your personal identity and moral values. Our Catholic tradition of education is inspired by Vatican II’s call to seek truth, the goodness of creation, and the dignity of every human being. We welcome students of all backgrounds to live intentional lives of faith and create a more just society.