In 1878, the pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Father Theodore McDonald, O. Carm stood in front of his new congregation in Tenafly, New Jersey and announced, “If I must sell my own coat we shall have Sisters in a very short time, and we shall have our own school.”  The following October, Our Lady of Mount Carmel School opened with 30 students when two Sisters of Charity arrived by train every morning from nearby Englewood and walked from the depot one mile through the mud, heat and cold.

Over 130 years later, the same determination continues at OLMC with a primacy of faith, and through the lens of love.  Our vision forward is informed by our shared past.  With a state certified staff, many of which have received or are attaining their advanced M.S. or M.A. degrees, who regularly exceed state requirements of 100 hours of professional development, OLMC faculty understands that teaching is a profession and that lifelong learning is a vocation. With waiting lists for most of our classes, and alumni attending the best high schools and universities in the country, OLMC is viable and vital, in the 21st century. Fr. Theodore's vision has expanded in ways even he could never imagine. On the same grounds where Fr. Theodore made his bold announcement, our students confidently say, "We are Mount Carmel!"