St. Mary's School (Medford, Oregon)

St. Mary's School
Address
816 Black Oak Drive
Medford, Oregon, Jackson County, 97504
United States
Coordinates 42°18′51″N 122°50′11″W / 42.31417°N 122.83639°WCoordinates: 42°18′51″N 122°50′11″W / 42.31417°N 122.83639°W
Information
Type Private, Coeducational
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established 1865
Superintendent Frank Phillips[1]
Faculty 46
Grades 6–12
Enrollment 448: 311 upper, 137 middle[2] (2010)
Average class size 18[2]
Student to teacher ratio 11:1[2]
Campus Suburban
Color(s) Navy Blue, Columbia Blue and White             [1]
Athletics conference OSAA Southern Cascade League 3A-4[1]
Mascot Crusaders
Accreditation Northwest Accreditation Commission,[3] PNAIS[4]
Website http://www.stmarysschool.us/

St. Mary's School is a coeducational, independent Roman Catholic college preparatory school in Medford, Oregon within the Archdiocese of Portland. St. Mary’s School was founded in 1865 as a boarding and day school to serve pioneering families throughout southern Oregon and northern California. Today, it provides a college preparatory curriculum for students in grades 6-12. The 24-acre campus is located in east Medford.

History

St. Mary's School was founded in the pioneer mining town of Jacksonville, Oregon, in 1865 by three members of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and was known as St. Mary's Academy. Operating as a twelve-year (the upper grades were limited to girls) boarding and day school, it served pioneer families in Southern Oregon and Northern California. St. Mary's graduated its first student in 1871.

St. Mary's moved to Medford, Oregon in 1908 and in the late 1920s became coeducational, graduating its first boy in 1930. In 1948, the Sisters of the Holy Names transferred title of the school to Sacred Heart Parish which operated it as a twelve-year coeducational school for the next 13 years. In 1961 St. Mary's Elementary and High School separated into two schools when the current high school was built on Black Oak Drive.

In 1971, when Sacred Heart Parish determined it could no longer financially support two schools, a group of supporters raised funds, and gained permission from the Archbishop to incorporate as an independent, Catholic school, the first in Oregon.

With the Archbishop's permission St. Mary's added a middle school in 1987 after a fire damaged Sacred Heart School and representatives of the parish and greater community asked the Board of Trustees to transfer the seventh and eighth grades to the school. A sixth grade was added in 1992.

In 1998, St. Mary's began its first capital expansion in 31 years with a five-phase building campaign. Since 1998, St. Mary's completed an expanded parking facility, an all-weather eight-lane track and upgraded athletic fields and a library/media and science center with three science labs and seven additional classrooms.[5]

In July 2009, St. Mary's gained international media attention when a group of 65 students traveling to China as part of a good-will building program sponsored and funded through the Confucius Institute under and Hanban Chinese Language Council Organization were twice placed under government quarantine after a number of the students tested positive for the Swine Flu virus.[6]

Accreditation

St. Mary's School is registered with the Oregon Department of Education and is accredited by the Northwest Accreditation Commission and the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools. In addition, the School is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, the National Catholic Education Association, and other professional organizations.[2]

Academics

St. Mary's won the Oregonian Cup in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.[2][7][8]

The school offers 17 Advanced Placement courses including 4 foreign languages: Latin, German, Spanish, and Mandarin.

Sophomores and Eighth Graders complete the International Schools' Assessment, which offers schools a form of international benchmarking.[9]

In August 2008, St. Mary's received a Confucius Classroom grant from the Confucius Institute, providing funds for community members to learn Mandarin and study the Chinese culture free of charge.[10]

Athletics

St. Mary's high school athletic program began around the time the school did. The mascot is known as the "Crusaders" and the team colors are navy blue and columbia blue. The "Crusader" is a Biblical character. The athletic director is Adam Peterson.

They are a member in good standing of the Oregon School Activities Association and participate in the Southern Cascade League, except for football where they are currently an independent team. All teams currently play in Class 3A based on school enrollment. The school has won numerous state championships in various sports in the Class B, 1A, 2A and 3A since 1958.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 OSAA.org :: Schools
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Fast Facts". About SMS. St. Mary's School. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  3. ↑ http://www.northwestaccreditation.org/schools/Oregon.pdf
  4. ↑ PNAIS: St. Mary's School
  5. ↑ "History and Mission of St. Mary's". About SMS. St. Mary's School. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  6. ↑ "US Students Face Second Quarantine in China". News. CNN International. 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  7. ↑ http://www.osaa.org/awards/oregoniancup/09-10/Spring/2a.asp
  8. ↑ OSAA.org :: Awards :: The Oregonian Cup
  9. ↑ "Middle School Academics". Academics. St. Mary's School. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  10. ↑ "St. Mary's class offers Mandarin language". News. Mail Tribune. 2008-08-31. Retrieved 2008-09-01.