Joe Cory/Key photo Larry Moore greets St. Teresa's Academy alum Sister Helen Flemington during an Oct. 15 dedication ceremony for the newly designed quadrangle, part of the school's $8 million capital campaign.

Kevin Flattery, director of institutional advancement at St. Teresa's Academy, said the capital campaign showed that "St. Teresa's is an anchor in the community, and we are here to stay," noting that the school is the "last Catholic secondary school remaining in the (Kansas City) urban core."

The high school, founded in 1866 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, has 485 girls enrolled in grades 9 to 12. The order still owns the school, which is led by a board of directors made up of lay people and representatives from the religious order.

Although the capital campaign unofficially began in June, and has already brought in $3.1 million, the campaign was publicly launched Oct. 15 with a ceremony at the school.

The first phase of capital campaign-related improvements has already been finished, thanks to the early donations. The completed improvements include a new quadrangle, pathways, lighting, benches and a softball field, expanded parking and the demolition of an old power plant on campus that was built in 1908. The new quadrangle was dedicated during the Oct. 15 ceremony.

First-phase improvements cost about $1.4 million.

The last three phases of improvements will be made during the summers of 2000, 2001 and 2002. The next phase will focus on physical improvements to Donnelly Hall, which houses classrooms, laboratories and administration. In later phases, physical improvements will be made to the music and arts building, and the athletic facility.

Other areas covered by the campaign include $500,000 for an existing scholarship endowment fund, and $250,000 for the creation of a faculty and staff development fund that would provide for professional development and subsidize salaries.

Flattery said he was pleased with the progress of the campaign, which has already raised more than $3 million. "That comes from fewer than 100 people," he said. "We have 6,000 constituents, and 2 percent of them have given us 40 percent of our campaign goal."

The school is forming teams of volunteers who will visit the school's 5,400 alumnae to solicit donations toward the $8 million goal, which they hope to reach by November 2000, Flattery said.