The year was 1869.

Immigrants were streaming into the United States—poor, Catholic immigrants who needed an education in order to move into the mainstream of society. There was no Catholic secondary education for women in Erie.

The Benedictine Sisters of Erie saw a need and responded. They began St. Benedict Academy, the first Catholic high school for women in the city.

A story-and-a-half frame house provided the first "school" where Sister Edith Schlaudecker, a strong, determined woman, directed the new students. Two students appeared on the first day of school, and with tuition set at $1 a month for day students, the uncertainty with which the future was faced can well be imagined.

Undaunted by this meager beginning, a lively faith prompted the Sisters to continue teaching the curriculum offerings: Christian Doctrine, English, Sacred History, Drawing, Music and Embroidery.

The dedication of the new three-story building for boarders and day students took place on December 8, 1870, less than two years after the first day of school.

Until 1920, the Academy accommodated boarders as well as day pupils, and the curriculum provided for the eight grammar grades and a three-year commercial course.

Improvements were made at various intervals: the training of the sisters to meet professional standards; the addition of a fourth year to the curriculum and first class accreditation for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Instruction (1922).