Spotlight On: Laura Hotchkiss, Head of School, Academy of Notre Dame de Namur
June 2025 — In an interview with Invest:, Laura Hotchkiss, Head of School at the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, emphasized the importance of equipping students with a variety of skills, including technological and cross-cultural competency. “Whatever the history is, you’re helping these young women to become problem-solvers.”
What are some recent milestones or achievements for the Academy?
Notre Dame introduced a health and wellness program, ND Cares, which focuses on the well-being of our students. We believe that one needs to be well in heart, mind, and spirit. It can be difficult for a student to excel in academics, athletics, or perform on stage if they are suffering beneath the surface. Part of the ND Cares program focuses on how you help your friends who might not be well, and knowing where those resources are. Through building a network of trusted adults on our campus, the students know who they can go to when they have a concern.
Our Center for Global Leadership is both curricular and extracurricular, involving connecting teachers around the globe and building cross-cultural competency so our girls understand what happens in other parts of the world and can be aware global citizens. For instance, we talked with a sister school in Argentina about what elections look like there and what issues are top of mind for voters. There are several components to the program, including pen-pals, virtual classrooms, and travel opportunities, each designed with attention to service and leadership. This year, students traveled to the Netherlands for the Model United Nations Youth Conference, to New Orleans for service, and to Argentina for a student exchange with one of our sister schools.
College is certainly on the minds of our students from their sophomore year. Our graduates attend universities all over the globe. We have over 98% of the class of 2024 who were accepted to their top college choice. The girls are happy with their choices, which is the result of hard work and support from the college counseling team to make sure the students identify a path beyond Notre Dame that really fits what they want to do. We have many students who are interested in STEM, nursing, journalism, finance, and marketing, and you will see students looking for institutions that have missions aligned with their values and goals.
How is the economic and social landscape impacting independent schools?
We are in a very competitive market with excellent public and private schools in close proximity to Notre Dame. There are schools around the corner from us, so in that regard, we’re a very tight market. As a result, we are constantly thinking about our values and mission and how those are a part of the student experience in an authentic and meaningful way. With many options, prospective families need to get a sense of our culture and mission, and what their child will experience “inside our gates.” Our foundress, St. Julie, believed deeply in the goodness of God and saw the goodness of God in all people. We are an all-girls’ Catholic school, grades six to 12, and that’s our niche.
In this market, schools are looking at enrollment trends and how many school-aged children are in the area, with the goal to fill our seats with mission-aligned students. We need to have robust enrollment so that we can thrive as a school, support our teachers, and expand access through financial aid and scholarships to our students.
At Notre Dame, it is the people who define us — the teachers, staff, students, and extended community who fill our halls with purpose and life. They bring our mission to fruition, embodying the values of the Sisters of Notre Dame in every classroom, on every field, and across every stage. United in belief and action, they are the heart of who we are and the work we do.
Another point of distinction is our 39-acre campus. We look very carefully at caring for the facility, upgrading the buildings, and maintaining the grounds. Independent schools are not inexpensive models. The question is how do we use our resources to make sure that we are attracting mission-aligned students and that we attract and retain the best teachers and resources for our students. With the economic impact and concern during the pandemic, people did leave New York and come to this area, so that became a short-term solution. Is that a longer-term solution? Those are data points that we all need to keep our eyes on.
How do you balance tuition affordability with curriculum excellence?
Tuition assistance is provided in a couple of ways: need-based and specialty scholarships. The majority of our tuition assistance funding is allocated to financial need. Tuition assistance is about 15% of our operating budget, which equates to one out of three girls receiving some support. We have very generous donors who support access for families with financial need. Pennsylvania also has a very robust tax credit program. Donors can support financial assistance with their tax credits, which are allocated to financial aid dollars.
Indeed, we have to balance excellence with affordability. The price of tuition in this area ranges from free for public schools to the very high-end independent schools, which are over $50,000 a year. Notre Dame is in a unique position on this scale: right in the middle of area schools. In that market position, we actually can attract families across the economic spectrum, and that is who we want to be. That decision speaks to the mission of the school to serve students from all economic levels in the region. With our small class size and many trusted adults helping these girls learn and thrive, we provide an excellent education that supports students on campus and prepares them for life after ND. We have a robust college counseling program, which translates to independent attention as you decide on your college. Our learning support team assists students who learn differently from others in the classroom and guides the spectrum of school-related activities such as athletics, service, theatre, and clubs.
What worries me is that some people do not know that schools offer financial aid. At Notre Dame, we are committed to educating students with the knowledge, values, and confidence they need for life. While some may see the tuition and assume it is out of reach, our goal is to make this transformative education accessible to families from all backgrounds who believe in our mission. In Pennsylvania, if your school district is within 10 miles of Notre Dame, your district will provide busing to transport your child to Notre Dame. We also subsidize additional private transportation for students coming from outside that 10-mile radius, again trying to make this as accessible as we can.
What are your top priorities for the academy over the next couple of years?
We want to be around for a long time. We need to be affordable and ensure the institution flourishes into the future. Educators will continue to model and teach our girls what they need to know for life — whatever the topic, whatever the content, we help build student capacity around creativity, innovation, and communication.
Our program and offerings will continue to evolve to serve our girls in the future. As a girls’ school, we have an obligation to prepare our graduates for an ever-changing and evolving world. We need to continuously adapt and adjust what we’re teaching, but always through the lens of being creative, collaborative, and critical. Whatever the program or area of study, we are helping these young women become problem-solvers so that they can thrive in a global society.
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