St. Mary’s Academy Profile of Distinction
At A Glance 2008-09

Profile of Distinction

• Founded in 1859 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, St. Mary’s Academy is Oregon’s oldest continuously operating secondary school, and one of 716 all-female schools in the country.
• St. Mary’s is the only school in Oregon to receive three U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools Program Awards.
• St. Mary's celebrates the achievements of the 148 accomplished young women comprising the Class of 2008: 7 National Merit® Scholarship Program Finalists; 8 National Merit® Scholarship Program Commended Scholars; 1 National Merit® Scholarship Hispanic Recognition Award; 1 National Achievement Scholarship Award; 2 National Scholastic Art and Writing National Gold Key Award winners; 8 National Scholastic Art and Writing Regional Gold Key Award winners; 62 President’s Award for Educational Excellence Winners; 22 Service Honor Cords; 36 Scholar Athletes; 17 Thespian Honor Cords; 12 Tri-M Music Honor Cords; and 52 National Honor Society Cords.
• For the second year in a row, St. Mary’s teams won first in the 2008 State Science Olympiad Competition.
• St. Mary’s Academy students consistently score higher than male and female state and national averages on SAT and ACT examinations.             
• St. Mary’s Academy has won 17 OSAA state championships in five different sports and2 OregonGirls' Lacrosse State Titles and the cross country team recently placed 10th in the nation. In addition, the Blues have won four academic state titles, twice winning the OSAA/POWERade Scholar Athlete award with the highest percentage of senior student athletes with a 3.50 GPA and above. During the '07-'08 season alone, five SMA coaches won Coach of the Year awards.  At the conference level, St. Mary’s teams have earned 63 titles, 41 as members of the Metro League, 20 in the Mt. Hood Conference and two in the OGLA PIL League.
• Sixty-six percent of students receive academic honors with a G.P.A. of 3.50 or above, and 95 percent of the student body is involved in extra-curricular activities.
• St. Mary’s 2008-09 student body reflects a diverse socioeconomic, religious, and ethnic population, representing 129 previous schools in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
• St. Mary’s boasts computer technology throughout the building in classrooms,computer labs, a presentation room, and three specialized mobile laptop labs in foreign language and science.
• The entire student body, faculty, and staff participate in the school’s community service program, providing direct service to the poor and disadvantaged, and 86% of the student body is involved in non-mandatory community service.
• St. Mary’s offers two unique mentoring programs: Teaching, Integrating and Exploring Science (TIES) science mentoring program pairing St. Mary’s Academy students with fifth grade girls from local parochial schools, and Alumna-Student Mentorship Program where junior and senior students are paired with St. Mary’s alumnae.

*Nationally, research has shown an all-female school environment enables adolescent women to thrive and develop lifelong leadership skills. Experts agree that Today’s Young Woman is Tomorrow’s Leader because she:

• participates more fully in and out of class,
• develops a higher level of self-esteem than her co-ed counterparts,
• has more opportunities to hold leadership positions and observe women functioning in top jobs,
• scores higher on standardized achievement tests,
• chooses traditionally male disciplines, such as the sciences, as her major in greater numbers, and
• tends to hold higher job positions and earn more money.

*© 2000 Joplin Globe