Regina Dominican High School

Regina Dominican is a college preparatory Catholic school for girls grades 9-12, located in Wilmette, Illinois.

History

Regina Dominican was founded in 1958 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, at the request of Cardinal Samuel Stritch. The school was named it in honor of the Virgin Mary and St. Dominic, who was the founder of the Order of Preachers. The school was officially opened in September 1958 with 64 sophomores and 200 freshmen. Sister Mary Kevin Campbell was the first principal of the new high school.

Accreditation and awards

Regina Dominican is a member of the Dominican Association of Secondary Schools and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). The school subscribes to the NACAC Statement of Principles of Good Practice, and is accredited by AdvancED and the Illinois State Board of Education. Eighty-four percent of Regina Dominican’s faculty have earned advanced degrees, or are in the process. As of 2024, the student-to-faculty ratio was 8:1.

In 2012, Regina was recognized with an Edison Award Silver Medal in the category of living, working, and learning environments for its approach to education that prepares young women for global leadership.^[1] Regina Dominican has been recognized by the United States Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 2025,^[2] and is listed among the top 2% of the nation's schools.^[3] Niche ranks Regina as the 4th best all-girls high school in Illinois and the #3 All-Girls School in Cook County.^[4]

In 2025, Regina Dominican was recognized as a 2025 Illinois Governor’s Blue Ribbon School, one of 28 schools statewide to receive this honor for exemplary academic performance.

In 2025, College Board announced that Regina Dominican High School has been named to the 2025 Advanced Placement® Program (AP®) School Honor Roll, earning Platinum distinction for the third year in a row.

Academics

The school offers a rigorous STEAM and liberal arts education, including the arts, as well as courses in theology. Incoming students must pass the High School Proficiency Assessment exam.

Regina Dominican's Class of 2026 was accepted to over 139 colleges and universities across the country and was offered $16.5 million in scholarships. More than 60% of graduating seniors from the Class of 2026 have declared a major in the STEM field.

Extracurricular activities

Clubs

The school offers more than 26 clubs, including Mathletes, Dominican Preachers, Art Club, Green Paw Environmental Club, Photography Club, the Orchesis Dance Ensemble, and more.

Athletics

Regina Dominican has one of the largest all-girls athletic programs in the state. The school offers 11 competitive sports, and student athletes are part of the Independent School League (ISL) and IHSA Conference. Interscholastic sport teams include cheerleading, cross country running, golf, flag football, tennis, volleyball, basketball, bowling, lacrosse, soccer, softball, and track and field.

The 2023-2024 Varsity Basketball team competed in the IHSA Final Four, earning fourth place. This is the teams first appearance down state in over 20 years and a young team at that, only losing two seniors.