Berkeley Parents Network: St. Mary's College High School

Berkeley Parents Network

St. Mary's College High School

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > K-12 Schools > St. Mary's College High School

Website for St. Mary's College High School: saintmaryschs.org

March 2007

Hello, Hoping to get a glimpse from those who currently have children attending St. Mary's College H.S. Can you share the best and worst experiences in regard to academics, social life, teacher quality, etc. ? My daughter will be going there starting next year; I'd like to get some tips -- to start out the year. Thanks for your help. Anonymous

I have two daughters at St. Mary's, one about to graduate, with very different personalities. They both love the school. The best things are the supportive student community, the emphasis on character, some truly excellent teachers, a variety of AP classes, the fact that faculty know my daughters and interact with them in positive ways, and some good counseling. The school does do a wonderful musical each year, and they have some excellent singers and actors. The music teacher is good but the level of musical ability among the students is not so great. My kids are very music oriented so they get the advanced music from programs outside of school. Sports is a very big deal, and for students into that, it seems like an excellent program. The school is very diverse, and interestingly, does not seem as balkanized as some schools. Students interact well.

We are not religious, but I asked my older daughter what her favorite class was at St. Mary's yesterday, and she said ''AP Physics, and Parables.'' Parables is one of the religion classes, and they take one each semester they are there. She loved it because they read parables and discussed their meaning. For a while, she wanted to be a philosopher! The good religion classes really stimulate them to think about ethics and values, and I think that is great. Kids should all have a chance to do that in school. They should also have a class on financial planning and checkbook balancing, and my daughter seems to be in that class now, a pleasant surprise. The pre-college counseling is good and they have an opportunity for an intensive week of professional SAT preparation their Junior year at a very reasonable price. There are also excellent opportunities to participate in community service projects here and abroad.

Some ''worst'' things: Over the years they have had some bad teachers. I think that is not unusual. Sometimes they bring that on themselves, or it is a personality conflict: one of my daughters will complain endlessly about so and so, and the other will love him or her. We wanted to take a semester off to go abroad and could not without losing our spaces. Now, faced with College expenses, I wonder if we could have saved the money and made do with the local public--some people have excellent experiences there too. But if you asked my daughters, they would be adamant that it was well worth it to go to St. Mary's. St. Mary's Mom

My child is a senior at SM. It has been a great 4 years. There were times I wondered about some of the rules I deemed foolish, the lack of course electives, lack of creativity, but in hindsight these issues seem small in comparison to what my child gained. SM has challenging classes, the new principal is making considerable changes in offering more classes and electives and when I see the colleges the SM students have gotten accepted to, I am glad we stayed the 4 years. Social climate is what you make it. It is a diverse campus and as long as your child is open minded she will have a great social experience. I highly recommend the immersion trips that are offered to the students during their enrichment week. SM can be a great school if you take advantage of what the teachers have to offer. anonymous

August 2006

We are beginning to look at High Schools and are interested in private schools as well as our local public high school. Although we were raised Catholic, neither of us has been actively religious for 30 years. We are considering St. Mary's and wonder if there are other families with gay parents who have experience with sending their child/ren to Catholic schools. How much homophobia was there? Teachers? Administration? other kids? other parents? Anyone not actively Catholic who sent their child to St. Mary's????? Thanks for any help
Kate

we are not catholic -- in fact, i am an atheist [raised episcopalian], and my daughter is too -- but st. mary's was a good choice for her. she will be a senior this year. it is kind of funny, because she has always had great grades in religion class. that is the place where students can talk through issues of social justice and philosophy.

at least one of my daughter's close friends was raised by a single mom [dad was always ''out of the picture''], but she is not aware of gay families at st. mary's [on the othe hand, she is not terribly social, and it wouldn't matter to her if someone had 2 moms or 2 dads]. my daughter says a teacher told them about a school survey, which said only 25% of st. mary's students are catholic. my impression of the school, as a parent, is that the school is very tolerant and caring. my daughter adds, though, that kids often tease other kids about being ''gay,'' a joke we both find offensive. [but that kind of stuff is likely to be worse in a public school, because there just isn't as much attention to individual students OR individual rights. we pulled my son from ECHS in part because of the lack of attention to him, as an individual.]

hope this is helpful.
another mom

I know 3 kids who are at St. Mary's that have gay parents, both male and female. They have found the school supportive and not homophobic.

There are quite a few families where Catholocism is not the main religion, mine included. We are jewish and catholic. The school is supportive in that area as well.

But, remember, this is a catholic school and that is their focus and there is prayer.

My child has loved her 3 years at SM
SM parent

June 2004

I would like any information, recommendations about St. Mary's College High School. I like the school, but would like first hand information to compare.

We have a son who will be entering his third year at St. Mary's. He very much likes the school. He has a group of friends that he enjoys and he is involved in other projects besides academics such as the school newspaper, band and baseball.

As in any school, the quality of the teachers varies from very good to not so good which as always is frustrating especially when you are putting out a good chunk of change to send your child to a private school. The expectation at the school is that everyone will go on to college. However, if your child is academically driven and is a high acheiver, I would strongly urge you to discuss this with the school. I do not think our son has been challenged very much up until now though I do think this year will be different now that he has some flexibility in choosing his courses. The community is very diverse with children from all types of backgrounds attending the school.

It is a catholic school which does impact all aspects of the school. The kids take religion every year and every class and assembly begins with a prayer. As a Jewish family, we have found this somewhat alienating, but our son has figured out ways of dealing with the situation that is comfortable for him. In some ways, religion is a class he has come to enjoy because those classes have the most interesting discussions. As our son does not want us to be involved with his school life, we occassionally have contacted his teachers through email if we had any concerns. All of his teachers over the past two years have responded to our emails within a reasonable amount of time. I can't say that they have ever initiated contact, but I have found them responsive when we have contacted them.

We have the advantage of living within several miles of the school so it almost feels like a neighborhood school. As many children attend from outside of Berkely, the traveling to and from the school can be an added burden especially if the child is involved in after school activities of which there are many. Cindy

July 2003

We're moving North and I'm looking for a High School in the Berkeley area. Any first hand knowledge on St. Mary's or College Prep? If we rent in Berkeley and are interested in Albany High, how strict are the School Districts with requesting a transfer? BHS sounds great, but my incoming Junior needs small classes. Thanks!

My daughter completed two years at St. Mary's this spring and has decided to transfer to Berkeley High next fall as a junior. She had straight A's at St. Mary's but was really getting bored with the school after only two years there. We both realized that she was ready for the more stimulating - and challenging! - academic and social environment available at Berkeley High.

Classes at St. Mary's are quite large (her English class last year had 35 students) and the level of instruction can vary widely. The religious instruction is fairly heavy duty and quite Catholic. Science and math instruction are especially weak. On the plus side, the school is economically and racially diverse, and the social environment is warm and welcoming. The kids are very friendly and the school works very hard to teach mutual respect and tolerance. The sports programs are excellent and because it is a small school almost everyone makes it on a team.

One last note . . . almost twenty girls in my daughter's grade are leaving this year. I'm sure your daughter would be very welcome at the school after so many departures. retiring St. Mary's parent

My daughter is on the waiting list to enter St. Mary's as a transfer student into 11th grade. We were told that there were 2-3 spots available for the 12 transfer applicants. If indeed there was an exodus from the 10th grade, why only 2- 3 spaces available? I had an email from the director of admissions yesterday (7/6) assuring me that they were still full.

This was our attempt to leave Berkeley High, which is huge, has many large classes, and a chaotic, insecure environment. Of course, there are many people who love BHS.

To each his or her own. anonymous

I highly recommend St. Mary's for a well-rounded high school education in the Berkeley area. My daughter is a 2003 graduate, and over 94% of her graduating classmates are bound for 4 year colleges, with the remainder going to community colleges. Class sizes are small -- she was never in a class with over 30 students. While it is a Catholic school, she was exposed to world religions including Hinduism, Judaism, and non-denominational teachings to name a few. This, coupled with their strong sports and performing arts programs, made it an excellent choice for us. alumni parent

The feedback (and observations I have made) I have from parents (and their children) of teenagers I have tutored from St. Mary's is as follows: The students who thrive on rigor, challenge, multiple AP/honors classes, simultaneously, have expressed boredom at St. Mary's and found fault with the quality of academics. The students I tutor--and have tutored--who do/did not want unrelentingly intense academics (there is something to be said for preserving your teen's energy stores for college and not squandering all of one's self in high school) have been happy at St. Mary's, relieved, really, not to be bombarded with the honors track workload at CPS or Berkeley High, for example. Such kids (and their parents) have also alluded to the sense of safety, physically and emotionally, that their child feels at St. Mary's. I would also add that if you've a St. Mary's student in need of additional challenge, he/she can always enroll in a class at a junior college or Cal--I recommend the foregoing option to some of the children I tutor to suppliment GPAs or knowledge. I know that, for varying reasons, there does not exist the perf Believer in psychosocial happiness over academics

This is in response to the tutor who said that ''The students who thrive on rigor, challenge, multiple AP/honors classes, simultaneously, have expressed boredom at St. Mary's and found fault with the quality of academics''. I am amazed! My daughter just graduated from St. Mary's and she was constantly challenged with AP classes, community activities, classwork, homework, etc. She was also always able to get one-on-one help from instructors and/or counselors when she needed it. The staff and teachers were usually always responsive and concerned (yes, we did have two teachers over the four years that were an exception to that). I had friends who had kids going to BHS in AP and Honors classes, and when I saw the work that they were doing compared to St. Mary's, their ''honors'' work often was equal to the average work that was expected from St. Mary's students. From what I saw over the years at St. Mary's, the students worked very hard and were expected to achieve high academic standards. Mary

Nov 1999

I encourage those of you looking around at different high schools to consider St. Mary's--for a small, highly diverse, friendly, community-spirited environment with excellent academics and sports. This was a huge and difficult decision for a non-Catholic family, solidly committed to public education. We had to give it a try to change a path that was becoming too risky and uncertain for our pre-teen, and we are ecstatic. Call St. Mary's in North Berkeley, just off Hopkins, to visit, or attend the upcoming Open House for families looking at high schools for next year: November 21st, Sunday at 1 pm. For a child who might get "lost" in a really large urban school environment, without a clear commitment to his or her academic path, nor a strong extracurricular activity, we have found St. Mary's the ideal answer---there are now just over 600 students, co-ed. This month we are hosting a French exchange student arranged by the new French dept. chairperson---and our junior will attend school in France for two weeks next March.

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