Holy Cross Academy is an independent Junior/Senior private high school located in Vernon, Oneida County, New York, with a Oneida mailing address. The school is an educational institution teaching in the Roman Catholic Tradition; its curriculum focuses on the impact of church culture and how it shaped the western world, and includes both classic and traditional liberal arts courses.
Though the school is independent of the administrative jurisdiction of the Diocese of Syracuse, it was established with and operates under the blessing of the diocesan bishop, and is registered with the New York State Department of Education.
The school has won numerous awards for excellence for its Catholic curriculum, athletics and musical departments .

Founding
The idea for the high school was born in 1995. It was then that a group of local Roman Catholic parents met to discuss the need for a Catholic high school in the county. Many of the families involved were affiliated with local homeschooling organizations or had children registered at the local diocesan elementary school. They wanted a Catholic school established as an option for secondary schooling in the area. Though the Diocese of Syracuse encompasses seven counties, it was home to only five diocesan Junior/Senior high schools, none in Madison county and all beyond standard busing routes.[6] Plans for the founding of a new school began soon after the meeting, and Holy Cross Academy was incorporated in 1996 and open to students in 1997.

Locations
Holy Cross Academy has operated in three locations. The first was in a two-classroom schoolhouse on the property of Holy Cross Church in New London, New York (for which the school was named). After seeing substantial growth in enrollment, the academy moved to the parish center of St. Joseph Church in Oneida）
In 2002, the academy made a permanent move to its first self-owned location after purchasing a former church facility on Barrington Road in Oneida. Since the purchase, the school has made several expansions, including the addition of extra classrooms and full-sized soccer and softball fields. Plans for substantial future renovations and additions have also been drawn. Holy Cross Academy became a member of NAPCIS (National Association for Catholic and Independent Schools) in 2003.