Case Statement
Saint Mary’s Academy is a Catholic high school for young women, founded, sponsored and administered by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. The administration, faculty and staff are committed to challenging each young woman to attain her full potential academically and spiritually. This effort is strongly characterized by respect for the individual, academic preparation for higher education, and empowerment of the young Christian woman to take her place in the world as a caring, responsible, and productive adult.
From its founding and on-going associaton withthe Sisters of St. joseph of Carondelet, Sint Mary'scontinues to honor its commitment to provide educational opportunities to all of its young students in a caaring and supportive envirnoment and with the conviction that education finds its character and expression in sevice to others. A Saint Mary's Academy education promores the formation and integral development of young Christian woment from various ethnic cultures and backgrounds and the development of contemporary leaderhsip qualities, taking care to preserve the spirit and traditions that have made Saint Mary's Academy unique.
Saint Mary’s is located in Inglewood, California where the school draws 27% of its students. The majority of the students, 60%, come from neighborhoods located in Los Angeles. The remaining 13% come from surrounding cities: Bell, Carson, Compton, Culver City, Gardena, Hawthorne, Huntington Park, Lawndale, Lennox, Lynwood, Paramount, Torrance, Van Nuys,and View Heights.
At present, Saint Mary’s serves a religiously, culturally and economically diverse student body. Approximately 46.8% of the families are African-American, 36.6% are Hispanic, .3% Native American, .5% Asian, .3% white and 15.9% are multi-cultural. Financial aid is provided for over 60% of the students. Although Saint Mary’s is a Catholic high school, many of the students who attend are not Catholic: 52.3%
are Catholic while non-Catholic students represent 47.3% of the student body.
For the last four years, 100% of the graduates have been accepted into colleges and universities. Of the 2008 graduating class, 83% were accepted to four-year colleges and 17% to community colleges. 58% of the graduates were Cal Grant recipients. Beyond this, the school has a century-long tradition of educating young women to realize their full spiritual and intellectual potential, not only in terms of their educational performance, but more importantly, in terms of enabling these young women to develop their leadership qualities and sense of self-worth. Saint Mary’s Academy is fully credited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and by the Western Catholic Educational Association.
Saint Mary’s Academy is an independent corporation sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. The school is governed by a Board of Directors. The school Principal is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the school. The members of the corporation, the Provincial Superior and her council, reserve certain powers such as approval of the Principal after recommendation by a board-appointed search committee, approval of the annual budget, approval of changes in the mission and philosophy of the school, and approval of the Board of Directors. The school administration meets annually with the Sisters’ Provincial Council to give a “state of the school” report in light of the mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph.
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