The Academy of the Holy Angels, the oldest private school in Bergen County, was founded in 1879 in Fort Lee, NJ by Sister Mary Nonna Dunphy, a School Sister of Notre Dame, as a "twelve year" boarding and day school for girls that educated students from Kindergarten to 12th Grade. Originally known as Holy Angels' Collegiate Institute for Young Ladies and Preparatory School for Little Girls, the Institute attracted students from all over the world who came to study language, the arts and Christian Doctrine. Although the Academy's campus relocated from Fort Lee to Demarest, NJ in 1965, their vision, interest in a global curriculum and focus on the empowerment of young women remains steadfast. Now entering its 125th year, the Academy is part of a global network of SSND schools in the United States and throughout the world whose commitment to the mission of "empower(ing) each young woman to reach the fullness of her potential spiritually, morally, intellectually, socially and physically" remains strong.