Since its founding in 1873, Notre Dame Preparatory School has provided a stellar college preparatory education to young girls in the tradition of the School Sisters of Notre Dame (SSND).
The essence of the school’s mission—academic excellence, spiritual growth, and the practice of justice—has remained the same since the school’s establishment and provides the foundation allowing NDP to offer a solid liberal arts-based curriculum while responding to the educational needs of the times.
The original school building of Notre Dame of Maryland, the school’s founding name, was constructed on Charles Street. The school flourished from the start and gained national prominence when President Ulysses S. Grant conferred diplomas at the school’s 1876 commencement. Throughout its first 50 years, the preparatory school attracted students from all over the world. Cardinal James Gibbons often brought visiting dignitaries to Notre Dame, where he kept an office. As a result, Notre Dame’s reputation as a premier Catholic girls’ school spread. The preparatory school continued to thrive, but space constraints became a reality.
In 1960, Notre Dame relocated to a spacious, modern campus on Hampton Lane. At the same time, the school reaffirmed its individual identity as Notre Dame Preparatory School, or NDP. The Mother Philemon Doyle Library and new labs were added in 1992 to enhance the academic program and introduce new technology. In 1999, the Irene B. Kirby Educational Center and the Knott Performing Arts Center were built, and athletic facilities were expanded. In 2002, a new Gateway, reminiscent of the gateway that was once located on Charles Street, was constructed. In March 2005, the school opened a state-of-the-art Sports and Fitness Center. In fall 2006, an outdoor courtyard, featuring an original statue of SSND Foundress Mother Theresa of Jesus, was dedicated.
In 2012, the school installed the Yeardley Reynolds Love ’06 Turf Field and landscaped and refurbished the center courtyard to create a beautiful outdoor space. In 2014, in partnership with the School Sisters of Notre Dame, NDP renovated the Convent building to provide contemporary living space for the sisters and expanded office space. In addition, a separate STEAM Center was created, providing students the necessary space for STEAM instruction, robotics, and design and build projects. In summer 2016, a dedicated Innovation Lab was added to the Middle Level. January 2020 found our students working and studying the newly opened Innovation Wing, which is dedicated to our STEAM and Humanities programs, and features a new, beautiful outdoor learning space. Today state-of-the-art technology provides countless learning opportunities for students in both the Middle and Upper Levels.
In 1985, Notre Dame Preparatory School earned national recognition as an Exemplary Private School, in keeping with the standards of excellence established by the School Sisters of Notre Dame more than 100 years before. Affirming the school’s stellar academic reputation, the Middle States Association of Colleges and School re-accredited the school in 2012 with high praise. In 2012-2013, NDP was named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and a University of Maryland Top Engineering Source School. NDP has also been named a Baltimore Sun “Top Workplace.” In 2021 NDP reaffirmed its ongoing dedication to justice and equality with the formal adoption of diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments. These commitments, which are an integral part of NDPs mission, vision, and values, will guide our way forward as a school community dedicated to the Gospel message and the SSND charism of unity.
The 2023-2024 school year marks Notre Dame Preparatory School's 150th Anniversary of educating young women to transform the world, a mission the entire community accepts with enthusiasm, conviction, and faith!
Notre Dame Preparatory School
An Independent, Catholic Girls School, Grades 6-12, Sponsored by the School Sisters of Notre Dame
